Afghan crisis: Taliban uses gunfire, whips to control crowd at Kabul airport

The Taliban is using gunfire whips and sticks to control thousands of Afghans looking for a way out of the wartorn country at the Kabul airport A photojournalist for the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday captured graphic images of wounded Afghans after Taliban fighters used lethal weapons to control the crowd at the airportldquoTaliban fighters use gunfire whips sticks and sharp objects to maintain crowd control over thousands of Afghans who continue to wait for a way out on airport road At least half dozen were wounded while I was there including a woman and her childrdquo tweeted Marcus YamlsquoSmiling at each otherrsquoYam captured harrowing photos of the violence near the Kabul airport which he described as ldquoindiscriminaterdquo He said he saw one Taliban fighter fire into ldquothe crowd smiling at another Taliban fighter as if it were a gamerdquoAlso read France evacuates 21 Indians from KabulDemonstrators including former interpreters for the British Army in Afghanistan hold placards as they protest opposite the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday PicAFPHe said Afghans were waiting outside the airport to ldquotry their luckrdquo and get on a flight out of the nation which is now under Taliban controlThe Taliban swept into Kabul and seized power on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani left the country bringing an end to a twodecade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform Afghanistan Earlier the Taliban pledged to protect the rights of women and minorities and assured that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would not pose a threat to any countryDoubts remainPolitical experts say that it might not be as plain as that and doubt whether the terror group which is yet to moderate its ldquodraconian viewsrdquo on justice will stand by its promiseslsquoChinarsquos position on Afghanistan issue clearrsquoChina on Wednesday said it will decide on extending diplomatic recognition to the Taliban in Afghanistan only after the formation of the government in the country which it hoped would be ldquoopen inclusive and broadly representativerdquo ldquoChinarsquos position on the Afghan issue is consistent and clearrdquo Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here answering a question on when would China accord diplomatic recognition to the Taliban insurgents which has taken control of AfghanistanUS freezes USD 95 bn of Afghan reservesThe Biden administration on Tuesday froze about 95 billion of Afghan reserves to keep cash away from the Taliban after it captured Afghanistan United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and personnel at the Treasuryrsquos Office of Foreign Assets Control had decided to freeze the accounts reported Dawn citing The Washington PostGermany to send 600 troops for evacuationGermany will send up to 600 army personnel to Kabul to help evacuate German citizens and former Afghan local embassy staff Chancellor Angela Merkelrsquos Cabinet on Wednesday gave a go ahead to the mission Germanyrsquos Bundestag Parliament will have to vote on the military mission as well Every armed foreign deployment of the German army has to be approved by parliament in GermanyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliabilitsy and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever