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Scene at Kabul airport: security forces shoot to disperse a crowd
Photo: VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS / via REUTERS
The evacuation of people from the Afghan capital Kabul by the German armed forces has stalled.
Two German planes launched on Saturday could only bring seven and eight people respectively to Uzbekistan, as the Bundeswehr announced on Twitter.
In a later Bundeswehr transport, significantly more people in need of protection went on board - it flew 205 people from the country conquered by the militant Islamist Taliban.
The next plane in the evening took off with only 20 people.
The situation in Kabul continues to be difficult, according to the Bundeswehr.
"We'll take everyone on the plane to protect," the Defense Ministry said in the morning.
There were major problems with the entrances to the airport, where dramatic scenes continue to take place.
An eyewitness reported to the German Press Agency that thousands of people stayed there.
The Foreign Office tweeted: "The security situation at the airport in Kabul is still extremely dangerous, access to the airport is often not possible." Later, the Foreign Office said that the gates would be opened and closed at short notice.
"The situation remains dangerous and volatile."
US Major General William Taylor said on Saturday at the Pentagon that entrance gates had only been closed for a short time in the past 24 hours so that "the right people" could pass.
The US armed forces had evacuated a total of around 3800 people in the previous 24 hours.
Since the start of the evacuation mission in Afghanistan a week ago, the US military has flown a total of 17,000 people from Kabul.
Taylor went on to say: "No change in the current enemy situation in and around the airport has been reported."
The German and American embassies in Kabul advised their citizens against attempting to reach the airport.
"Currently it is generally safer to stay at home or in a sheltered place," wrote the German embassy to compatriots.
The US embassy called on American citizens to avoid the airport due to possible security threats.
The Afghan civil aviation authority made it clear that there would be no more civil and commercial flights.
Kirby did not want to comment on security threats when asked.
However, he pointed out that the situation around the airport is not stable and is constantly changing.
Three corpses covered with white tarpaulin
Another eyewitness told the dpa that there were people from all walks of life at Kabul Airport.
He has seen actors in the crowd, well-known television personalities, teenagers, women with newborn babies or people in wheelchairs.
The US broadcaster CNN reported, citing an "informed source", that around 14,000 people were at the airport.
According to a media report, there were even several deaths in the crowd at the airport.
Recordings by the British television channel Sky News showed on Saturday how soldiers covered at least three bodies with white tarpaulin.
What the people died of was initially unclear.
Several injured people could also be seen.
The Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport himself, reported that several people were "squeezed" in the crowd.
Rescue workers rushed from one injured person to another.
Ramsay said people waiting at the airport were "dehydrated and panicked".
He also filmed soldiers who sprayed those waiting with a water hose to cool off.
A witness also reported to SPIEGEL: "I saw children being trampled to death."
Taliban deputy chief apparently arrived in Kabul
Pentagon spokesman Kirby said there were "a small number" of Americans who had been harassed or beaten by the Taliban on their way to the airport in the past few days. This also applies to Afghan supporters of the US operation. Most Americans would, however, be let through the Taliban's checkpoints. Those responsible at the Taliban had been informed of the incidents. According to the US government, the militant Islamists have promised to let Americans pass.
The Bundeswehr moved two helicopters to Kabul in order to have more options for evacuations. The agile helicopters arrived in Kabul on Saturday morning and are ready for use, according to the Defense Ministry. The Bundeswehr announced that it was planned to use it in Kabul to "take in smaller groups to be evacuated in the urban area and transport them safely to the airport." At first there was no information about specific missions. According to Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU), the helicopters can only be used on site in coordination with the Americans and the other partner countries.
Meanwhile, Taliban insiders told the German press agency that the deputy chief of the militant Islamists had been in Kabul since Saturday.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar wanted to talk to Taliban members and other politicians about the formation of a new government, it said.
Baradar would be the highest-ranking Taliban leader to have arrived in Kabul.
However, there were no pictures of him in the city in the evening either.
It is unclear where Taliban leader Haibatullah Achundsada and his two other deputies are.
It also remained unclear what the future Taliban leadership in Afghanistan should look like.
The aim is to form an "inclusive government," said a Taliban representative.
Less than a week ago, the Taliban captured Kabul and took power.
Since then, members of the opposition, journalists, human rights activists and local staff who worked for Western countries have feared acts of revenge.
It is largely unclear how the Islamists will rule this time.
It is feared that the extremists want to re-establish an Islamic »emirate« and, in the process, use draconian punishments against those who think differently.
The Bundeswehr had started its evacuation campaign for German and Afghan local staff at the beginning of the week, and by Saturday afternoon they said they had brought around 1900 people to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
From there the evacuees are taken to Germany.
"We fight against time and space"
Kramp-Karrenbauer assured that the Bundeswehr will continue the evacuation under high pressure.
"The situation is difficult, but we will continue with the possibilities and everything that arises on site to get as many out as possible," said Kramp-Karrenbauer on Saturday in Berlin.
Pentagon spokesman Kirby said, “We know we are fighting against both time and space.
This is the race we're in right now. "
In fact, the time window for further evacuations from Kabul is getting smaller and smaller.
The US actually wants to complete the withdrawal of its troops by August 31st.
A continuation of the evacuation operation without the USA is excluded.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that talks were being held with the Taliban to facilitate the evacuations.
However, the negotiations in no way signified recognition of the new government, emphasized the CDU politician during a visit to Spain.
She also promised an increase in humanitarian aid from the European Union.
However, there will be no funds for the Taliban if they do not respect human rights, said von der Leyen with regard to development funds of one billion euros, which are earmarked for Afghanistan over the next seven years.
Laschet accuses Maas of failure
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) expressed her "deep thanks" to the Bundeswehr soldiers in Afghanistan for their efforts to rescue Germans and local workers. She described the development in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power as "drama" and "tragedy". "We wanted to give as many people as possible in Afghanistan a free, good and self-determined life," said Merkel. "And we just have to say: It didn't work out that way."
The opposition in the Bundestag accuses the government of having delayed the departure of Afghan aid workers from the Bundeswehr and the federal government. Green chief Robert Habeck said on Saturday in Dortmund: "What is being said from the federal government that nobody could have known that the situation was escalating like this." The CDU politician told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung": "Since April the Foreign Office could and should have looked after our local staff better."
Kramp-Karrenbauer admitted a massive misjudgment by the federal government in view of the advance of the Taliban: "Our assessment of the situation was wrong, our assumptions about the capabilities and readiness of the Afghan resistance against the Taliban too optimistic," wrote Kramp-Karrenbauer in a letter to members of the Bundestag, which is available to SPIEGEL.
wal / dpa / AFP