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August 16th, 2021 
Awake Goy 
Thousands of Afghans crowded the tarmac of Kabul airport on Monday morning in a desperate attempt to get out of the country after the Taliban militant group seized power.
US forces at the airport were forced to fire into the air to restore calm.
“I am very scared. They are firing shots in the air. I saw a young girl being run over and killed,” a witness told AFP.
Footage released on social media by journalists at the scene reveals scenes of desperation as people jostled in the hope of securing a place out of the country.
It comes less than a day after Taliban insurgents entered the capital after sweeping the country in a power-grabbing operation that has surprised Western countries by its swiftness.
A Taliban spokesperson and negotiator told the Associated Press news agency that the militant group is holding talks aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan.
Earlier, a Taliban official said the group would announce a new government from the presidential palace, but those plans appear to be on hold.
The United Nations’ Security Council has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at 16:00 CEST to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The European Union’s Political and Security Committee will meet an hour earlier by videoconference with Belarus also on the agenda.
‘Safe passage’
More than 70 countries, including most European union member states, the UK and the US, have meanwhile urged the group to “respect and facilitate” evacuations of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country.
Washington intends to have enough aircraft to fly out as many as 5,000 civilians a day, both Americans and the Afghan translators and others who worked with the U.S. during the war.
France’s Minister for Armed Forces, Florence Parly, said two military planes would from Monday fly back and forth between Kabul and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to evacuate people.
Germany and the Czech Republic have also started evacuating their residents and Afghan staff.
But it was by no means clear how long Kabul’s deteriorating security would allow any evacuations to continue.
A spokesperson for the Taliban meanwhile, said on Twitter: “We assure all embassies, diplomatic missions, institutions and residences of foreign nationals in Kabul that there is no danger to them.”
Airlines avoid Afghan airspace
The flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 showed on Monday morning that commercial passenger flights were avoiding flying over Afghanistan.
British Airways confirmed to Euronews on Monday morning that it is “not currently using Afghanistan’s airspace.”
Air France also confirmed to Euronews on Monday that it has been rerouting flights to avoid Afghan airspace.
“Air France is constantly monitoring the current geopolitical situation in Afghanistan and the territories served and flown over by the airline’s aircraft,” it said in a statement.
“Flight plans are adjusted in real-time according to the decisions of the French and regional authorities, in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety,” it added.
Virgin Atlantic said in an emailed statement to Euronews that “following the latest situation reports in Afghanistan, we will be re-routing our upcoming services to avoid Afghanistan’s airspace.”
Its flights to Pakistan and India typically overfly Afghanistan.
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