LAHORE MIRROR (Monitoring Desk)– Five people were killed in chaos at Kabul airport on Monday, witnesses said, as people tried to flee a day after Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital and declared the war against foreign and local forces over.
It was not immediately clear how the victims died. A U.S. official said troops had fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto a military flight that was set to take U.S diplomats and embassy staff out of the fallen city.
One witness, waiting for a flight out for more than 20 hours, said it was unclear if the five had been shot or killed in a stampede. U.S. officials at the airport were not immediately available for a comment.
In a social media video, three bodies could be seen on the ground near what appeared to be an airport side entrance. Reuters could not verify the footage. Another witness said he had also seen five bodies.
It came as Taliban officials declared a 20-year war over and issued statements aimed at calming the panic that has been building in Kabul as the militants, who ruled from 1996 to 2001, routed the U.S.-backed Afghan army as foreign forces withdrew.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the bearded Islamist militants entered Kabul virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said in a message on Twitter that its fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone. “Life, property and honour of no one shall be harmed but must be protected by the mujahideen,” he said.
“Thanks to God, the war is over,” he said.
SOURCE: REUTERS
