Amid desperate attempts by Afghans to flee the country as the Taliban takes charge, women have reportedly been throwing their babies over barbed fences, asking troops to catch them and take them to safety. The Taliban seized Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on Sunday, causing panic among civilians. Thousands of Afghans have been attempting to flee the country, even clinging to flights as they take off.
Talking to a News agency, A senior British army official told how his troops have been crying at night after seeing women throwing their children over the barbed wires, asking the soldiers to catch them on the other side.
“It was terrible, women were throwing their babies over the razor wire, asking the soldiers to take them, some got caught in the wire,” narrated the British soldier.
Kabul airport has become a picture of utter desperation ever since the Taliban took control of the Afghanistan capital and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Thousands of men, women and children were seen rushing towards the Kabul airport even as US troops opened fire to control the exodus.
Hundreds of Afghans were seen crowding the US Air Force jet as it took off from the runway, some managed to hang on to the wheels of the flight or sat on the wings, only to fall to their deaths from the sky.
New videos from the Kabul airport have emerged showing women crying for help from outside the gates and barbed wires, pleading the troops to let them in. In the video, the women are heard saying, “Help us, the Taliban are coming.”
In another incident on Wednesday, a man who used to work as an interpreter for the Australian army, said that he had been waiting in line to reach the airport gate when a member of the Taliban, who was guarding a checkpoint, shot him in the leg.
The former interpreter was allegedly shot in the leg by the Taliban while he was trying to reach Australia’s first military evacuation flight out of Kabul airport on Wednesday morning. Around 26 people were able to board the flight, including Australian citizens and Afghan nationals.