Thousands of people desperate to flee Afghanistan unleashed chaos at Kabul airport on Monday, attempting to board repatriation flights on the first day of the country under the control of the Taliban.
At least five people were killed during the riots, according to the Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the airport, separated by a row of barbed wire, the United States rushed to evacuate American diplomats from the country.
State Department spokesman Ned Price reported Sunday night that all embassy personnel had been safely evacuated to the airport facilities, the perimeter of which is secured by the US military.
["Blood on their hands": Republicans criticize Biden while Kabul remains at the mercy of the Taliban]
As the United States made its way to evacuate, neighboring countries and American rivals, China and Russia, seemed willing to try to capitalize on the chaos of the disorderly departure of the United States from the country.
Afghans crowd the runway at Kabul airport to flee the country August 16, 2021.AFP via Getty Images
China has said it is willing to forge "friendly relations" with the militants.
Russia clarified on Sunday that it did not plan to evacuate its embassy in Kabul and that it will "speak" to the Taliban's political office in Doha.
Afghan television channels only published reports in favor of the Taliban, and there were rumors that the Internet could be shut down at any time, a resident told NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo, through WhatsApp, and that he did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation from the Taliban.
Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was on all the networks, he added.
[Biden announces that the US will leave Afghanistan on August 31 despite the risk of civil war and the resurgence of the Taliban]
In a video shared online, crowds of people can be seen circling passenger planes and attempting to break onto a runway that links the terminal to a plane.
The chaos at the airport means that it is likely impossible, or very difficult, for a pilot to take off.
The Afghans say the Americans are only focused on evacuating their citizens, leaving them at the mercy of the Taliban.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday when insurgents entered the capital.
In the rest of the city, people said an eerie calm had gripped the streets after the Taliban assault on Kabul.
Most of the stores were closed, there were fewer people on the street compared to Sunday and a frenzy of aviation activity could be heard, according to residents.
[The war in Afghanistan "is an absolute failure", says a veteran before the new advance of the Taliban]
Many Afghans worry that the Taliban are now reimposing their brutal and austere rule over Afghanistan, which saw women's rights virtually eliminated and persecuted minorities.
"Everybody is panicking," said an Afghan who recently moved to Kabul from Jalalabad because no one in the capital knows that he worked for the Americans as an interpreter.
"Everyone is trying to get to the airport," he confirmed.
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The 22-year-old said he would not try his luck there because he knew the Americans would not let him in.
Instead, he is patiently waiting for his Special Immigrant Visa, a program for Afghans who worked with US troops and diplomats, to finalize.
“I can't take someone else's seat on a flight, I have to wait.
It is dangerous to go to the airport, "he said.
Not everyone is in a position to be patient and some do not even have a roof to shelter in.
The poorest, who had left their homes in the countryside for the presumed safety of the capital, remained in the parks and open spaces of the city.
The United Nations (UN) reported that thousands of people continue to be displaced towards Kabul and other urban areas, and that at least 17,600 internally displaced people need humanitarian assistance.
Foreigners also sat waiting for news from their governments, or rushed out of the country.
[The US Army leaves the main air base in Afghanistan, after almost 20 years]
"It's like a COVID-19 quarantine," explained Wayne Parry, an Australian citizen who says he got stuck in Afghanistan while on a business trip.
"Everyone is waiting and they are obviously nervous."
Parry, 50, said he was staying at a boarding house in Kabul and, as a foreigner, was too worried to leave while waiting for news from Australian diplomatic staff.
"We are hiding here, we cannot go out. There is a feeling of resignation because the Taliban have what they want, so there is nothing we can do except sit and wait," explained the Melbourne native.