Latest news: Several images with a strong emotional impact captured Afghan people who wanted to leave with an American military plane and lost their lives after falling from the aircraft while it was taking altitude., with at least five victims reported so far.
The Afghans are so desperate to leave the country that they get on the runway in the way of planes taking off to stop them. The military is forced to drive them off the runway by helicopter.
Romania and more than 60 states have issued a joint statement on the situation in Afghanistan, calling on Afghan and foreign nationals wishing to leave the country to be allowed to do so and calling on the current ruling forces to protect people’s lives and restore civil order.
The text was signed by Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and security policy, Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands , Mauritania, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Cyprus, Romania, USA, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Togo , Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Yemen.
“Given the deteriorating security situation, we support, strive to secure and call on all parties to respect and facilitate the safe and organized departure of foreign nationals and Afghans wishing to leave the country. Those in positions of power and authority in Afghanistan have a responsibility – and a responsibility – to protect people’s lives and property and to immediately restore security and civil order.”
The joint statement also states: “Afghan and foreign nationals wishing to leave must be allowed to do so; roads, airports and border crossing points must remain open and calm must be maintained. The Afghan people deserve to live in safety and dignity. We, in the international community, are ready to help them. “
The Taliban entered the capital Kabul on Sunday and took control of the Presidential Palace, after conquering the main cities of Afghanistan in turn in recent weeks, following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
The country’s president, Ashraf Ghani, announced that he has left the country to avoid bloodshed.
The members of the UN Security Council will meet in an emergency session, on Monday afternoon, with the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres to present the situation in Kabul.
The BBC has released a video of hundreds of Afghans desperately trying to board a plane. Dozens are actually hanging from each other on the plane’s ladder, while many others are staring helplessly from the runway.
All personnel have evacuated from the US Embassy in Kabul and are now at the Kabul airport, the State Department said Sunday night.
The United States has deployed additional 1,000 troops as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Kabul. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has approved the deployment of another 1,000 US troops to Afghanistan, a defense official told CNN. Thus, a total of 6,000 American soldiers will soon be in Afghanistan.
The Taliban are now in control of Afghanistan after 20 years of war and amid rapid withdrawal of US troops.
BBC recounts about the life under the Taliban ruling in the small town of Balkh, where there are reports of killing a woman for “indecent clothing” have surfaced, although the Taliban have announced that women will not be forced to wear the burka (which means their faces are covered).
In another story, a man was forced to walk barefoot until he fainted because he was listening to non-Islamic music.
Photos have reportedly emerged of the Taliban parading men through the streets tarred in black and with nooses around their necks as fears grow the militants will reimpose brutal Sharia law.