TALIBAN USE GUNFIRE, WHIPS, STICKS TO CONTROL CROWD AT KABUL AIRPORT

According to news reports, 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. “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.” 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.

Meanwhile, Members of the Taliban opened fire on people rallying in support of the Afghan national flag in the eastern Nangarhar province, a local source told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Some people were killed and others were injured, the source said. Afghan news agency Pajhwok reported that Taliban militants had beaten journalists working for it and the Ariana News broadcaster who was covering the rally. The violence provoked outrage from the local media.