One Afghan security force member was killed and three others were wounded, the Bundeswehr said in a tweet on Monday. No German soldiers were harmed in the skirmish, according to the Bundeswehr.
A firefight broke out between Afghan security forces and unknown assailants at the North Gate of Kabul airport. One Afghan security force member was killed and three others were injured in the battle, which also involved U.S. and German forces. German military confirmed
— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) August 23, 2021
Thousands have been amassing around the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan, where several countries have attempted to organize evacuations after Taliban forces seized control of the country. The process has turned into chaos, with people being killed in stampedes. “Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging,” the British military said in a statement on Sunday, acknowledging at least seven deaths in the crowds.
“At the front of the queue people were being crushed to death,” a Sky News correspondent reported from the airport on Saturday, adding he saw paratroopers “pulling people from the mayhem.”
Read More: Afghanistan’s ethnic diversity and power struggle
More deaths and crushing injuries in the crowds near Kabul airport have been reported during the week. At least twelve people were killed amid the chaos, with the deaths caused either by stampede or gunfire, Reuters reported, quoting unnamed officials. More people horrifically died while clinging to the outside of a US plane and then plummeting to the ground during take-off.
THREAD. My Afghan translator R has been trapped outside #KabulAirport for a week. I have applied for an SIV for him. I am a US citizen. No reply. Pending cases are not being allowed through the gates. Every day R gambles with his life to try to get in 1/10 pic.twitter.com/1SOQWylLCi
— Toby Harnden (@tobyharnden) August 22, 2021
With thousands of Afghans camped around the airfield, from where the US and NATO countries have been carrying out evacuations, the Taliban has urged people to leave if they do not have the legal right to travel. On Saturday, the US embassy issued a security warning that no citizens should travel to Kabul airport unless told to do so individually by a US government representative.
Read More: US forces firing killed US contractors at Kabul airport or was it stampede?
While scenes at #Kabul Airport are devastating and should be reported on, it should also not be forgotten that daily life in other parts of the city is surprisingly normal. I filmed this yesterday in the city centre Shahr-i Naw. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/Z4mgW1QZKJ
— Franz J. Marty (@franzjmarty) August 22, 2021
Washington is also considering deploying commercial airlines in the evacuation process. A warning to American carriers was issued this weekend, saying a national program that allows civilian aircraft to be added to military capability during a crisis related to national defence might be activated.
BREAKING
Taliban totally control the streets outside Kabul International Airport.
Biden refusing to give #JSOC authority to deploy its units, to leave KIA, neutralize Taleban and rescue Americans trapped outside the airport.
— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) August 23, 2021
The evacuation operation from the airport, while surrounded by Taliban militants last week amid US’ troop withdrawal, was dubbed “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history” by US president Joe Biden. The air bridge to Kabul might remain open for only a few more days, Britain’s armed forces minister James Heappey has warned earlier this week, saying his country won’t be able to fly everyone it promised out of Afghanistan.
https://twitter.com/DanielNewman/status/1429584774507769857
Read More: Desperate scenes at Kabul Airport as Afghans seek to flee country