We Don’t Want To Hurt Anyone: Taliban Urge Afghans To Leave Kabul Airport
Mumbai: Taliban on Thursday urged Afghans waiting outside Kabul airport in the hope of fleeing the country to go home. A Taliban official urged people who don’t have the legal right to travel to go home, saying, “We don’t want to hurt anyone at…airport.”
A day after Taliban fighters opened fire on demonstrators – according to eyewitnesses, three were killed, the militants now say they do not want to hurt anyone, news agency Reuters reported.
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While the Taliban managed to seize Kabul swiftly without violence, scenes at the airport were chaotic as Afghans desperately tried to leave the war-torn country to escape Taliban rule.
Since Sunday, 12 people have died in and around the airport, according to a Reuters report quoting a NATO official and a Taliban member. The Taliban official said either shot were fired or people were killed in the stampede.
The member urged people who do not have the legal right to travel abroad to go home. “We don’t want to hurt anyone at the airport,” he said.
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The comes as the crowd outside the Kabul airport on Thursday was reportedly told by a Taliban member that only people with travelling documents will be allowed access.
Attributing a Western security official, the report said that around 8,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul since Sunday. The US military in charge of the airport patrols the perimeter of the compound, outside its walls and fences
Witnesses said on Wednesday that Taliban gunmen prevented people from entering the airport compound.
“It’s an absolute disaster. The Taliban were firing in the air, pushing people, beating them with AK-47s,” a man trying to escape was quoted as saying by Reuters on Wednesday.
A Taliban member responded that commanders and soldiers opened fire in the air to disperse the crowd. According to eyewitnesses, the situation calmed down on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in the latest statement, Taliban commander Wahidullah Hashimi told Reuters that the group is still finalizing how they will govern the country, but there will be no democracy as it has no base in Afghanistan.
“We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is sharia law and that is it,” Hashimi was quoted as saying.
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