The Afghan Taliban effectively sealed their control of Afghanistan on Sunday, pouring into the capital, Kabul, and meeting little resistance as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, the government collapsed, and chaos and fear gripped the city, with tens of thousands of people trying to escape.
With rumours rife and reliable information hard to come by, the streets were filled during the day with scenes of panic and desperation.
To prevent hundreds of civilians from running onto the tarmac US forces fired in the air at Kabul airport on Monday, a US official said.
“The group was crazy,” the authority told Reuters by telephone. “The firing was simply done to stop the turmoil.”
Many Afghans have been stuck in the airport attempting to escape the nation after Taliban agitators entered the capital on Sunday. U.S. troops are in control at the air terminal, helping in the departure of government office staff and different regular people.