Washington closes its embassy in Kabul, and US forces fire bullets to prevent thousands of Afghans from leaving on American planes

Kabul-Washington (ST)_ The US forces fired in the air at the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, today, after thousands of Afghans stormed the airport runway to leave the country on US planes after the Taliban took control of the city.

The US State Department had announced that the US flag had been lowered from the US embassy in Kabul, noting that almost all of the embassy staff were at the airport, waiting for their evacuation hours after the Taliban entered the capital.

The US Departments of State and Defense said in a joint statement: “We are currently taking a series of measures to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport in order to allow the safe departure of US personnel and their allies from Afghanistan on civilian and military flights.”

The two ministries added in their statement, “During the next 48 hours, we will have expanded our security presence to about six thousand soldiers, with a mission focused exclusively on facilitating evacuation efforts and taking over air traffic control, and in the coming days, thousands of American citizens residing in Afghanistan, in addition to employees, will be transferred outside the country.

In a separate statement, the United States, along with 65 other countries, issued a warning to the Taliban, saying: “Given the deteriorating security situation, we call on all parties to respect and facilitate the safe and orderly departure of all foreign nationals and Afghans wishing to leave the country. Roads, airports, and border crossings must remain open.”

K.Q.