Taliban Blocks Access to Kabul Airport

Pentagon correspondent Jeff Schogol of Task & Purpose posted video on Thursday of the impenetrable “gauntlet” of checkpoints the Taliban has created around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Schogol reported the Taliban is blocking Afghan citizens with proper travel credentials from reaching the airport, rendering U.S. military control of the runways moot.

An Afghan man sent me this video which he said was raked outside Kabul airport today. How are Americans and Afghans supposed to get through this? pic.twitter.com/PjRTvof5p5

— Jeff Schogol (@JeffSchogol) August 19, 2021

The Taliban prevented properly credentialed Afghans from entering Hamid Karzai International Airport through the East Gate today.

— Jeff Schogol (@JeffSchogol) August 19, 2021

USA Today posted a viral video showing gunfire and chaos outside the airport:

Dramatic video shows the chaos near the airport in Kabul as people try to flee the country. pic.twitter.com/wRYOYl9IDp

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) August 19, 2021

CNN reporter Clarissa Ward on Wednesday made a similar assessment. Ward said it was “impossible for an ordinary civilian, even if they had their paperwork” to reach the airport.

The terrified crowds gathered around the airport are reportedly another barrier for evacuees to overcome, as several correspondents told the UK Daily Mail on Thursday:

Former British Marine [Paul] Farthing told MailOnline: ‘Two expats – one British and one Norwegian – have already been forced to turn back this morning because they can’t get through.

‘And last night a UN convoy carrying various foreign nationals, who had been working in Afghanistan for NGOs, had to turn round because of the sheer volume of people on the street.’

An Afghan-Australian trying to leave the country also told ABC it is ‘not possible’ to get to the airport because there is ‘lots of firing’ and ‘too many people’ while Max Sangeen, a Canadian interpreter, said his wife and children – including a 20-day-old baby – are trapped in Kabul despite having the correct documents.

A U.S. citizen trapped in Kabul similarly told Fox News on Wednesday that he was unable to reach the airport due to the huge crowds outside.

The Biden White House insisted until Thursday that it expected the Taliban to provide safe passage to the airport. The administration’s message changed Thursday when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin admitted U.S. forces can do nothing to help evacuees get past the Taliban’s checkpoints.

At the same briefing, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. State Department is “working with the Taliban to facilitate safe passage of American citizens and U.S. passport holders to the airport.”

When a reporter specifically mentioned reports of the Taliban blocking access to the airport, Austin said the Biden administration will continue its efforts to “deconflict” with the extremists.

A confidential United Nations threat assessment seen by the New York Times on Wednesday warned that despite its public promises of amnesty, the Taliban has a “list of people they wanted to question and punish” who worked with the U.S., NATO, or the deposed civilian government.

Taliban forces are going door-to-door seeking these people and taking their families hostage. So, there is reason to believe they would not allow their targets to fly out of the country.