Video: US troops fire shots in air at Kabul airport as crowd mobs tarmac, says official

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Kabul - Thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching a flight out.

By AFP, Reuters

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Published: Mon 16 Aug 2021, 8:56 AM

Last updated: Mon 16 Aug 2021, 9:17 AM

US troops fired shots into the air at Kabul airport on Monday as thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching a flight out of the country after the Taliban takeover of the country.

"I feel very scared here. They are firing lots of shots into the air," a witness told AFP.


A US official said that military flights from Kabul were only meant to ferry diplomats, foreign staff, local embassy staff, Reuters reported.

"The crowd was out of control," the official told Reuters by phone. "The firing was only done to defuse the chaos."


The official confirmed that forces fired shots in the air to prevent Afghans from running onto the tarmac.

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