Afghanistan Crisis: Taliban Use Gunfire, Whips, Sticks to Control Crowd at Kabul Airport

Kabul, August 18: The Taliban is using gunfire, whips, and sticks to control thousands of Afghans looking for a way out of the war-torn 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 airport.

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"Taliban 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 child," tweeted Marcus Yam.

Yam captured harrowing photos of the violence near the Kabul airport, which he described as "indiscriminate." He said he saw one Taliban fighter fire into "the crowd, smiling at another Taliban fighter as if it were a game."

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He said Afghans were waiting outside the airport to "try their luck" and get on a flight out of the nation, which is now under Taliban control.

The Taliban swept into Kabul and seized power on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani left the country, bringing an end to a two-decade 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 country.

Political experts say that it might not be as plain as that and doubt whether the terror group which is yet to moderate its "draconian views" on justice will stand by its promises.

The Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and in those five years, they imposed Sharia Islamic law in the country, introducing punishments in line with their strict interpretation of the law - publically executing convicted murderers and adulterers and carrying out amputations of those found guilty of theft. Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering hijab.

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