Video footages and images have surfaced showing the chaos that erupted at Kabul airport as locals can be seen scrambling to flee a Taliban captured Afghanistan. The development comes a day after Taliban seized control of Afghanistan capital and reports of the Afghani President Ghani fleeing his country emerged.

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Several hundred fearful and desperate Afghani citizens can be seen jostling around the Kabul airport tarmac. The agenda? Flee the now almost captured Afghanistan to wherever the atrocities of the Islamic militant organization Talban are not felt.

What Happened at Kabul?

In an ironic turn of events, where India and Pakistan celebrated their Independence Day, the Afghani citizens found themselves amid the chaos triggered by a much stronger and more relentless Taliban. On August 16, the Taliban captured Kabul, the Afghani capital and the most valuable asset in the Afghanistan war.

Heartbreaking Visuals Shared on Twitter

Soon, videos of Kabul airport captured faces of hundreds of desperate citizens trying to place themselves on a flight. While several civilians of multiple countries have already fled from Afghanistan, the majority of them are still waiting for saviour.

Afghans Left to Look On in Despair: New York Times

After UK and India sent over their special planes to evacuate diplomats and embassy personnel amid the Taliban making gains, US send its own choppers to evacuate its citizens. The New York Times reported, “With the evacuation of U.S. diplomats and some civilians underway on Sunday, helicopter after helicopter could be seen ferrying passengers to Kabul’s airport. But many Afghans could do little more than look on in despair.”

Afghanistan Airspace Closed, Air India Flight to be Rerouted

Meanwhile, on August 16 morning, Kabul airport announced that the Afghanistan airspace has been closed. This is a big blow to India as there was an Air India aircraft deployed to Afghanistan and help evacuate people. According to an NDTV source that was quoted in its report, “The airspace is closed. How any airline can operate? As of now we are not able to operate our 12:30 pm flight to Kabul.”

Reportedly, the Air India flights from US will be re-routed as they made the use of the Afghanistan airspace before. This includes AI-126 which travels from Chicago to New Delhi and AI-174 which travels from San Francisco to New Delhi.

Reuters reported that the ACAA (Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority) all transit airplanes to change ways and added that the airspace is now uncontrolled. News Agency AFP also reported Kabul airport authority saying, “There will be no commercial flights from Hamid Karzai Airport to prevent looting and plundering. Please do not rush to the airport.”

Afghan President Flees Palace to “Avoid Bloodshed”

Amid all the efforts by various countries continue to evacuate citizens, the Taliban militants declared the war over. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has fled from the country along with several diplomats to “avoid bloodshed”, Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem spoke to Al Jazeera and was quoted saying, “Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,”

Taliban Shows its “Moderate” Side

Interesting enough, the Taliban in its insurgency has shown the world a more moderate side of it, claiming that it would respect human rights of Afghanistan and foreign citizens alike. “We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,” the Taliban spokesperson said. “We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others.”