Afghanistan crisis; Continued chaos and shooting at Kabul airport
According to videos posted on social media, there was widespread gunfire from Kabul airport, and in some of them people were fleeing.
AFP confirmed the news that the shootings were carried out by US forces stationed at the airport.
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An eyewitness told AFP that the shooting rate was very high.
According to AFP, the shooting was carried out by the US Air Force, and so far there have been no reports of casualties.
A U.S. official told Reuters that troops at the airport had fired warning shots from the air to control the crowd.
"The crowd at the airport is out of control and the shootings were just to control chaos," the official said.
Since Taliban forces entered Kabul yesterday, large numbers of people have fled to Kabul Airport, the only way out of Afghanistan.
Numerous pictures have been published on social media of the overcrowding of Kabul Airport and the presence of ordinary people on the runway and other parts of the airport.
Earlier, the US State Department said in a joint statement with the US Department of Defense that the US military had secured Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
US troops who have traveled to Kabul to help evacuate US embassy staff are still at the airport.
The capacity of all outbound flights from Kabul has been completed and people have been told that the priority of departure is with foreign nationals.
The US State Department and Defense Department said in a joint statement that the US military would also take control of the watchtower and flight management.
At the same time, more than 60 countries issued a joint statement calling for the "safe and regular departure of foreign and Afghan citizens" from Afghanistan.
Passenger flights at the airport have been suspended.
New Zealand has also announced that it will send a military plane to Afghanistan to evacuate its citizens.
So far, several Western countries, such as Canada, France, Britain and Germany, have sent military planes to Afghanistan to evacuate their citizens.
UAE airlines have suspended flights to Afghanistan.
Emirates Airlines and Fly Dubai have announced that they will not fly to Kabul until further notice.
United Airlines has also announced that it will refrain from flying over Afghanistan.
British Airways and Virgin Airlines have made a similar decision.
