KABUL, 17 AUGUST: Chaotic scenes were witnessed outside Harmid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Monday (August 16), as Afghan citizens rushed into the airport terminal in an attempt to secure a flight and flee the besieged Afghan capital.
In a video filmed by eyewitness Jawid Sukhanyar, the sound of gunfire was heard and scores of panicked people, with young children amongst them, were witnessed running. A police vehicle in the video was unmanned, with no police officers sighted near it.
Commercial flights set to land in Afghanistan have been affected by the chaos on the ground. Emirates has suspended flights to Kabul until further notice, the airline said on its website. Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 showed few commercial flights over Afghanistan at 0300 GMT on Monday but many planes overflying neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
More than 60 western countries, including the United States, Britain, France and Japan, have issued a joint statement saying all Afghans and international citizens who wanted to leave the country must be allowed to depart – REUTERS
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