An eyewitness described the scene at Kabul airport to the BBC:
The departure hall turned into chaos after people said boarding passes were being printed secretly for officials and high-profile people who showed up at the airport.
I saw three former MPs, a few deputy ministers and some celebrities queuing up. Some didn’t even have a booking. We waited for almost eight hours, until airport staff started leaving their desks - first the check-in counters and then the migration and passport desks… different rumours created chaos. Some escaped from the airport and some rushed towards the gates.
No-one was in any of the passport check cabins and the QR scan doors were destroyed. There wasn’t a security check before getting to the gates.
We walked through and saw that the big glass doors between the gates and the airplanes were shattered. People ran towards the last plane (it seems the first plane, which was ours, was filled by officials and took off) and there was a second flight which people started to board.
It was almost a stampede.
We walked back and saw many hopeful passengers just sitting under the airplane near the runway. People were shocked and didn’t know what to do, running from one plane to the other.
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We then walked towards the exit to get in the car. Armed men in plain clothes were guarding the airport.
People were very desperate, some were running towards the airport, some were escaping. In order to stop people from getting into the airport, the guards opened fire into the air.
When I was getting out, there was a guy shooting in the air. A few minutes away on the airport’s road, I saw several police vehicles left alone on the road with doors open.
I can still hear sporadic gunshots and helicopters.
Taliban to declare ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ soon – report
The Taliban, who have rampaged across Afghanistan in recent days and earlier today entered the capital, Kabul, are on the verge of declaring that they have taken control of the country and that it is now the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, according to Press Association reports citing a Taliban official.
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