The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Afghanistan: Chaotic security situation at the airport, entrances and gates frequently closed

2021-08-21T14:09:22.171Z


Chaotic and dangerous conditions at the airport in Kabul: eyewitnesses report thousands of people who wait in front of the entrances, gunshots and tear gas. The gates are apparently closed until further notice.


Enlarge image

Those seeking help are still waiting in front of the Kabul airport

Photo:

Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat / picture alliance / AA

The security situation at Kabul Airport remains extremely tense.

Access to the airport is often not possible due to the dangerous location, said the Foreign Office on Twitter.

"To the best of our knowledge, the gates are currently closed."

The Bundeswehr also wrote on Twitter of a "currently very difficult" situation.

Despite the situation, it is planned to continue the evacuations on Saturday, the ministry said.

Other Bundeswehr machines, which are supposed to bring people from the Afghan capital over the airlift to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, are in use.

In the afternoon, the Bundeswehr announced that eight more people had been evacuated from the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Saturday night seven, with a previous 172. In total, Bundeswehr aircraft had meanwhile flown out more than 1,800 people.

The Bundeswehr also wants to use helicopters for the rescue operation.

Two helicopters of the type Airbus H145M, which are "especially suitable for use in cities", have now landed in Kabul, said the Ministry of Defense.

The Bundeswehr announced that it was planned to use it in Kabul to “pick up smaller groups to be evacuated in the urban area and transport them safely to the airport”.

The helicopters basically served to drop forces on narrow landing areas, also in inner-city areas and in areas with poor infrastructure.

Conditions are chaotic at the airport in Kabul.

Thousands of people continue to besiege the entrances.

The US broadcaster CNN reported, citing an "informed source," that around 14,000 people stayed at the airport.

An eyewitness reported to the German Press Agency about thousands of people who besieged the entrances.

The eyewitness had already spent the entire Friday at an entrance.

When he returned on Saturday morning (local time), the crowd doubled again.

Gunshots continued to be fired practically all the time.

At the northern entrance there were also loudspeaker announcements that the gate would now be closed for two days.

A second eyewitness said people from all walks of life were there.

He has seen actors in the crowd, well-known television personalities, young people, women with newborns or people in wheelchairs.

US citizens should avoid the airport

The US embassy is now advising US citizens not to go to the airport unless a notice states that the citizen has received individual instructions from the US government.

Just two days ago, the embassy announced that US citizens should come to the airport if they thought it was safe themselves.

The Afghan civil aviation authority also called for people to stop coming to the airport.

There are still no civil and commercial flights, it said in a message published on Facebook on Saturday.

  • The current developments of the day can be found here.

sak / dpa / AFP / Reuters

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-08-21

Similar news:

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.