Status: 21.08.2021 6:29 p.m.
The situation at Kabul Airport remains extremely chaotic. Access is blocked again and again. The German embassy called for people to stay at home. The evacuation flights of the Bundeswehr also stalled.
In Afghanistan, the security situation at Kabul airport remains extremely tense. Access to the airport is often not possible due to the dangerous location, tweeted the Foreign Office. “As far as we know, the gates are currently closed.”
The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Eberhard Zorn, also spoke of a “difficult” and “dynamic” situation, especially in front of the airport gates. That is why there are always gate closings. The Afghan civil aviation authority made it clear that there would be no more civil and commercial flights.
In view of the confusing situation, both the German and US embassies called on their citizens not to come to the airport. “At the moment it is generally safer to stay at home or in a sheltered place,” wrote the German embassy.
Shots in the air and lashes
At temperatures of more than 30 degrees, thousands of people are currently waiting in front of the airport. Conditions are chaotic. Eyewitnesses report shooting by security forces in the air or the use of tear gas. Taliban are also said to beat people with whips.
An eyewitness told the dpa news agency that there were people from all walks of life at the 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.
Despite the difficult situation, the evacuations would continue today, said the Foreign Office. Other Bundeswehr machines that are supposed to bring people from Kabul to Tashkent in Uzbekistan are in use.
Since the radical Islamic Taliban came to power less than a week ago, the Bundeswehr has flown almost 2,000 people out of Kabul. After the first two evacuation flights were able to bring only 15 people to Tashkent today, a plane with 205 people in need of protection took off in Kabul in the afternoon.
Bundeswehr relocates helicopters to Kabul
To support the rescue operation, the Bundeswehr has meanwhile relocated two helicopters to Kabul in order to have more options for evacuations. The agile helicopters arrived in Kabul in the morning and are ready for use, according to the Defense Ministry. It is 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,” said the Bundeswehr. At first there was no information about specific missions. According to Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the helicopters can only be used in coordination with the Americans and the other partner countries.
Kramp-Karrenbauer assured that the Bundeswehr will continue the evacuation of Germans and local personnel from Kabul under high pressure. “The situation is difficult, but we will stick to the possibilities and everything that arises on site to get as many out as possible,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer in Berlin.
Taliban co-founder acted as head of government
It is still unclear what exactly the future Taliban leadership in Afghanistan will look like. Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar traveled to Kabul to discuss the formation of a government. Baradar is traded as a possible new head of government of the Taliban.
Officials from the previous government have reported that Taliban fighters have kept them from work. Official Hamdullah said Taliban fighters stationed outside his office told him to “watch on TV or radio when I should return to work.” 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 that they will use draconian punishments against those who think differently.