Panic over the arrival of the Taliban has caused chaos in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
Thousands of citizens fearful of being trapped in the grip of Islamic extremists try to reach the airport in the vain hope of being able to leave the country.
At least five people have been killed this Monday morning trying to reach the runway.
Meanwhile, some reports of looting and abuse continue to be heard despite the fact that the Taliban have reiterated to their fighters that they must respect the property of others.
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With commercial flights suspended and the airfield taken over by the 6,000 soldiers sent by the United States to ensure the departure of its nationals, not even the (false) rumor that a visa was required to board a plane bound for Canada for the desperate Afghans to rush to the slopes in a rush. It is not clear whether the five dead were the victims of troop fire or an avalanche. A US official quoted by Reuters admitted that soldiers had fired into the air to disperse the crowd.
The scenes of chaos at the airport contrast with the calm that the Taliban say prevails in the rest of the country. Mohammad Naim, the spokesman for the political office of the militia in Doha (Qatar), has ended the war in the country, in statements to the Qatari chain Al Jazeera. However, it is not yet clear what their plans are. Before them they have the daunting task of going from being a guerrilla that relies on local forces (especially rural ones) to becoming an authority that controls and manages an entire country (including the much more complex urban centers).
Its 60,000 militiamen (according to estimates by the Center to Combat Terrorism of West Point, USA) have managed to spread over 90% of the territory thanks mainly to the withdrawal of the Afghan armed forces, most of whose 300,000 members have preferred to hand over their weapons and retreat rather than fight. But both the internal displacement of civilians and the attempts by many of them to leave the country indicate that the Taliban do not enjoy widespread support.
The movement's own
number two
, cleric Abulghani Baradar, recognized him in a video released last night.
Calling the swift victory over the Afghan government an "unparalleled achievement", he noted that the real test began now.
"It is about how we serve and secure our people, and ensure their future as well as possible," he said surrounded by other Taliban leaders, all men, all Pashtuns.
This homogeneity fits badly with the plurality of Afghan society and is at the root of the distrust generated by the group.
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For now, emboldened by the speed of their advance (in just over a week they have taken over the country), they seem to have ruled out forming a transitional government. It is not clear how the transfer of powers is being carried out or if the officials remain in their positions. During his interview with Al Jazeera, Naim said that the shape of the new regime would be clear soon, hinting that they are trying to form a government. "We do not want to live in isolation," he said before defending peaceful international relations.
But the memory of his dictatorship (1996-2001) makes many Afghans suspicious. So the Islamists managed to stop the civil war, but they imposed a moral code that condemned the Afghans to isolation. His mandate was especially cruel to women (confined to the home and forced to hide their bodies under the
burqa
the few times they could get out of it) and minorities. Despite the attempts of their leaders to project a more moderate image now, the news that leaks from the first cities that gave in to them, such as Herat or Kandahar, are discouraging: women who are prevented from going to work or attending University classes.
Nor do western countries trust the Taliban. Only Russia and China have responded positively to the Taliban call and keep their embassies open. Most governments have started or are managing the departure of their citizens. Sweden has already completed it. While accelerating the evacuation, 60 countries, including the United States and Europeans, have issued a statement in which they assure that Afghans "deserve to live safely and with dignity" and ask the new leaders to allow them to leave the country. who wants to do it. It is not clear, however, where they will be able to go, since there are few who can get visas.
In addition, many of those displaced since the start of the Taliban offensive have landed in Kabul, where they survive in a precarious way in family homes and parks. The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) has identified 17,600 in need of assistance, 2,000 of them registered in a single day. However, since Sunday it has paralyzed its activity "due to the uncertainty of the situation in Kabul."