Soldiers check documents of travellers crossing the border to Afghanistan at a crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan. PHOTO: AP

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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AP) — Thousands packed into the Afghan capital’s airport yesterday, rushing the tarmac and pushing onto planes in desperate attempts to flee the country after the Taleban overthrew the Western-backed government. United States (US) soldiers fired warning shots as they struggled to manage the chaotic evacuation.

The Taleban swept into Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a stunning end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan. The country’s Western-trained security forces collapsed or fled in the face of an insurgent offensive that tore through the country in just over a week, ahead of the planned withdrawal of the last US troops at the end of the month.

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In the capital, a tense calm set in, with most people hiding in their homes as the Taleban deployed fighters at major intersections.

There were scattered reports of looting and armed men knocking on doors and gates, and there was less traffic than usual on eerily quiet streets. Fighters could be seen searching vehicles at one of the city’s main squares.

Many fear chaos, after the Taleban freed thousands of prisoners and the police simply melted away, or a return to the kind of brutal rule the Taleban imposed when it was last
in power.

Kabul resident Wahidullah Qadiri said he hoped for peace after decades of war that have claimed the lives of two of his brothers and a cousin.

“We haven’t seen anything but catastrophes and fighting, so we always live with hope for a long-lasting peace,” he said.

Thousands of others doubted peace would come and raced to Kabul’s international airport. Videos circulating on social media showed hundreds of people running across the tarmac as US soldiers fired warning shots in the air.

One showed a crowd pushing and shoving its way up a staircase, trying to board a plane, with some people hanging off the railings.

Massouma Tajik, a 22-year-old data analyst, described scenes of panic at the airport, where she was hoping to board an evacuation flight.

After waiting six hours, she heard shots from outside, where a crowd of men and women were trying to climb aboard a plane. She said US troops sprayed gas and fired into the air to disperse the crowds after people scaled the walls and swarmed onto the tarmac. Gunfire could be heard in the voice messages she sent to The Associated Press.

The US Embassy has been evacuated and the American flag lowered, with diplomats relocating to the airport to aid with the evacuation. Other Western countries have also closed their missions.

By morning, Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority issued an advisory saying the “civilian side” of the airport had been “closed until further notice” and that the military controlled the airspace.

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