At least seven people were killed outside Kabul airport in an attempt by hundreds of Afghans to enter the Hamid Karzai International airport to leave the country, said UK military on Sunday. At least seven Afghans have been killed near Kabul's international airport amid the chaos of those attempting to flee the Taliban takeover of the country, the British military said. "Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible," said the Defense Ministry in a statement, as news of stampede and crushing injuries while Taliban outside the Kabul airport fired into the air to clear the crowd, were reported. The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaos around Kabul's airport, where thousands of people have been trying to leave following the insurgent group's takeover of the country. "There is peace and calm all over the country," Amir Khan Mutaqi, a top Taliban leader asserted, saying "there is chaos only at Kabul airport." "America, with all its power and capabilities, and with their president paying direct attention to the evacuation process, they have failed to bring order to the airport," Mutaqi said in an audio statement shared with media. The chaos at the airport comes a day after the United States on Saturday had advised Americans in Afghanistan to avoid traveling to Kabul airport due to potential security threats. The advisory coincided with the arrival of a senior Taliban leader and co-founder of the group Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul for talks on forming the government. On Monday, thousands of people rushed to the airport after the Taliban took over Afghan capital city Kabul and the United States military had to clear off the runway before resuming the flights again. Several Afghans plunged to their deaths while hanging off the side of a US military cargo plane. Meanwhile, Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan Laurie Bristow said in a video statement that the country had managed to evacuate 5,000 people so far. He said 1,000 people had been evacuated in the past 14 hours. Germany's federal defense forces said on Sunday that they have so far evacuated 2,100 people from 38 nations. They said the situation continued to be very difficult with airport gates needing to be closed due to crowds. The forces said they would continue to evacuate for as long as possible. Italy said its military evacuated nearly 1,000 Afghan citizens out of Kabul over the past week, with two flights carrying 207 Afghans arriving in Rome on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. The Dutch Defense Ministry said a total of 368 evacuees with a Dutch or foreign passport have now arrived in the Netherlands. The Netherlands said they would work to evacuate interpreters, security guards, legal assistants, cooks and drivers as well as employees of Dutch development projects, human rights defenders and, in particular, women's rights defenders. Journalists and fixers working for Dutch media area also concerned, the Defense Ministry said. French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said last week that France had evacuated 570 people from Kabul. — Agencies
