| Residents of Kabul run to the airport after hearing rumors of flights to Turkey on Feb. 8. Image: Twitter/Journalist Abdulhaq Omeri. |
Videos showed crowds of men, women and children, without luggage of any kind, shouting and jostling in the dark as they ran along the avenue leading to the airport in the capital, Kabul. Airport security forces fired into the air to stop the crowd and are said to have injured several people.
The incident reflects growing despair in Afghanistan, where a severe economic crisis is causing people to leave at all costs – even on aid flights to the disaster area. Washington Post.
Unexpected escape
“We were on our way to the wedding reception when we saw everyone running towards the airport. For a moment we heard gunfire and people said the Taliban wouldn’t let them in,” Afghan journalist Mohammad Farshad quoted a witness on Twitter.
“People say that some people are being taken to Turkey. My brother and I also wanted to try our luck,” added the witness.
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| The flight is reminiscent of the panic when the Taliban took over the country in August 2021. Image: Twitter/Journalist Abdulhaq Omeri. |
By around 22:00 p.m. on February 8, a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, had corrected any rumors of special flights to Turkey for “undocumented people”. untrue.
“No one should come to the airport with such intentions and no one should disturb the discipline in the airport,” he wrote on Twitter.
The incident seems to have stemmed from the Taliban government’s announcement that they would donate 165.000 USD for earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria – an unusual diplomatic gesture at a time when Afghanistan is being boycotted by much of the world and faces heavy financial sanctions.
In an official statement on February 7, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said the aid showed solidarity with “Muslim brothers” in both countries.
The statement also said that “medical and emergency response teams” from Afghanistan were “ready to participate in rescue operations” in Turkey and Syria, if required.
However, the people of Afghanistan did not see this declaration as a message of solidarity. Instead, they see this as an opportunity to flee. Rumors of planes coming from Turkey to Kabul spread quickly, sending people from across the capital rushing towards the airport.
Abdul Ghafar, 26, also rushed to the airport in the capital Kabul on February 8. “I heard that Turkey is taking people away. So I thought I could go and help people in need. This is also an opportunity for me to find a way to leave the country,” he shared.