Hundreds of people continue to crowd out of Kabul banks in hopes of getting some cash from ATMs or their accounts that have been inaccessible since the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan. Some, reports the Al Jazeera correspondent in the Afghan capital, arrived at 4 in the morning. According to all news TV, there were clashes in front of some credit institutions with the Taliban who threw stones to disperse the crowd.
Kabul airport closed
For over 24 hours, the Taliban have closed the Kabul airport to most Afghans who hoped to be evacuated from the country. Just as the United States, and its allies, completed the chaotic airlift that ends two decades of their troop presence in Afghanistan. Western leaders have recognized that their withdrawal would mean abandoning some citizens and many locals they have collaborated with over the years, promising to try to continue arguing with the Taliban to allow them to leave even after the August 31 deadline set by President Joe. Biden to withdraw from the nation. Although most allies have finished their evacuation operations, the United States planned to continue flights around the clock until the deadline, saying 113,500 people had been evacuated since August 14, the day before the Taliban claimed the take. of Kabul. Biden warned that another attack is “very likely in the next 24-36 hours” and the US embassy has issued a new warning, early today, for all Americans to avoid the airport area. .
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said yesterday that the forces of the Islamist group are holding some positions inside the airport and are ready to peacefully take over once US forces have left the country. However, statements denied by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. The Taliban, however, have deployed extra forces outside the Kabul airport to prevent large crowds from gathering in the wake of Thursday’s attack. New checkpoints have then sprung up on the roads leading to the capital’s airport, some manned by Taliban fighters in uniform with Humvees and night vision goggles, stolen from the equipment of the Afghan security forces. Areas where crowds had gathered in the past two weeks in hopes of fleeing the country were largely empty.
The officials also said that US forces have taken every precaution at the airport, as it is feared that ISIS, much more radical than the Taliban, could strike again. A new US Embassy security appeal this morning warns that due to a “specific and credible threat,” all US citizens should avoid certain airport gates and avoid traveling to the area.