Thousands of desperate Kabul residents mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s hard-line brand of Islamist rule as countries scaled back their presence in the war-torn country, with some states closing their embassies altogether as 20 years of a U.S.-led coalition’s presence comes to an end.
U.S. troops took control of Kabul’s international airport, where commercial flights were suspended on August 16, stranding Afghans and other foreign nationals who sought to flee.
“Shops are reopening, people are going out of homes and life is getting back to normal track, but others are concerned about their future,” according to an RFE/RL correspondent.
The government collapsed, with President Ashraf Ghani fleeing abroad on August 15 as the Taliban captured Kabul — the last major city in Afghanistan to hold out against an offensive that accelerated in the space of days as the militants rapidly gained control of territories across the country.
Citing “the deteriorating security situation” in Afghanistan, a joint statement by more than 60 countries said, “Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility — and accountability — for the protection of human life and property, and for the immediate restoration of security and civil order.”
The statement, published on the U.S. State Department’s website, said that “roads, airports, and border crossing must remain open, and calm must be maintained,” and concluded: “The Afghan people deserve to live in safety, security, and dignity. We in the international community stand ready to assist them.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to issue a statement on the latest developments, but the White House said on Twitter that he and Vice President Kamala Harris met with their national security advisers to hear updates on the evacuation.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Taliban and all other parties to exercise “utmost restraint” in order to protect the lives of Afghans and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Guterres said the rights of women and girls must be protected, in a reference to the Taliban, which imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia law during their 1996-2001 rule. The UN chief will address the body’s Security Council later on August 16 over the situation in Afghanistan.
The UN humanitarian office said members of the humanitarian community remain committed to helping the millions of Afghans needing assistance and are staying in the country despite the “highly complex” security environment.
More than 18.4 million people were already in need of assistance before more than 550,000 were displaced by conflict this year, according to the office, known as OCHA.
Many fear reprisals from the Taliban for their cooperation with government authorities or for working with foreign governments during the two decades the international coalition was present in Afghanistan. Those fears sparked desperate scenes at the airport as they sought a way out of the country.
Witnesses told Reuters that at least five people were killed as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes that were scheduled to leave the capital. There was no immediate official confirmation of the deaths.
Earlier, a U.S. official and witnesses said U.S. troops had fired in the air to scatter the crowd.
The Hamid Karzai Airport authority said it was forced to cancel all remaining commercial flights “to prevent looting and plundering.” The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority announced that Kabul airspace had been released to the military and that it advised transit aircraft to reroute.
A number of major airlines said they had stopped using Afghanistan airspace in response to the directive.
The Taliban sought to reassure the international community that Afghans should not fear their them.
In a message posted to social media, Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar called on the militants to remain disciplined, saying: “Now it’s time to test and prove, now we have to show that we can serve our nation and ensure security and comfort of life.”
Earlier, a Taliban spokesman said that “the war is over” and called for peaceful relations with the international community.
“We ask all countries and entities to sit with us to settle any issues,” Mohammad Naeem said, adding that the militant group would provide safety for diplomatic missions.
U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on August 16 that the military side of Kabul airport was secure, and that Britain was doing everything it could to evacuate British citizens and Afghans with links to Britain.
“Our target is…about 1200 to 1500 exit a day,” he told Sky News.
Wallace, meanwhile, said it was not yet the right time to decide on whether to recognize the Taliban as the Afghan government.
“I think there is a lot of more to come before those decisions are made,” he said. “The proof of the pudding will be obviously in their actions rather than their rhetoric.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had warned Western countries against recognizing the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new government without prior agreement.
Russia said its ambassador to Afghanistan was “in contact with the Taliban leadership” and would meet with “the Taliban security coordinator” in Kabul on August 17.
Foreign Ministry official Zamir Kabulov said that Moscow will decide on recognizing the new government based on its “conduct.”
Biden spent months downplaying the prospect of the Taliban taking control after announcing in April that the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops would be withdrawn by August 31.
On August 14 he defended his decision, saying an “endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me.”
He now faces rising criticism, especially from Republicans in Congress, after the insurgents rapid offensive captured most of Afghanistan’s main cities in less than a week.
This story includes reporting by Radio Azadi correspondents on the ground in Afghanistan. Their names are being withheld for their protection.
