A shocking video has emerged of a man beaten and bloodied by the Taliban as he along with his family tried to reach Kabul airport on Wednesday. The man, who claimed to be an Australian citizen, can be seen soaked in blood and yelling in pain. He was trying to enter Kabul airport along with female members of his family, with just hours to go before mercy flights out of Afghanistan stop.
He can be heard saying in the video that he was attacked by Taliban fighters as they vowed to stop people from reaching Kabul airport in blatant defiance of President Joe Biden's demand that evacuation flights be allowed to safely take off from Afghanistan.
Bloodied and Bruised
The disturbing video shows the man in what appears to be a Taliban checkpoint yelling in pain and trying to leave the place with his family. Moments earlier he was beaten as blood can be seen on his forehead which is dripping on to his t-shirt.
The t-shirt is soaked in blood and the man can be seen speaking in accented English, saying, "They hit me... I am an Australian citizen." He then tries to elaborate the entire incident as someone trying to drag him from the chaos.
He can be heard explaining in the video that he was trying to reach the airport with his family. His words get partially obscured in the chaos as the sound of Taliban guards cocking and firing an AK47 rifle over his head is clearly heard. The video then cuts out abruptly.
According to local media reports, the female members of the man's family too were manhandled, harassed and beaten. However, this unidentified man is just among the thousands who are trying to flee Kabul and have had to face the wrath of Taliban fighters at checkpoints as they are trying to stop people from flying out of the country.
Utter Chaos
The incident is in blatant defiance of Biden's demand that evacuation flights be allowed to safely take off from Afghanistan as Taliban fighters have been reportedly trying to stop them and are torturing people inhumanly.
Hope is fast running out to panic and anger with just hours left before evacuation flights out of Kabul stop. Flights are likely to stop soon as the priority now is to withdraw all troops by August 31, the date Biden committed to yesterday under threats from the Taliban.
British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday morning that the mercy missions are into their final hours with some 4,000 people that include 1,250 western citizens and 2,500 Afghans, still left to be rescue. However, he didn't give a specific time when the final flight will leave.
France also believes that in all probability its will have to stop flights by Thursday, while Poland said it has already stopped flights due to the "security situation" at the airport. Hungary will also stop flights soon.
Given this situations people are rushing to the airport and are being intercepted at Taliban checkpoints where they are being mercilessly beaten. Fears are now growing that civilians could rush the runway and trigger a deadly stampede in a repeat of the horror scenes from last week, or else opportunistic terror groups such as ISIS could attack packed crowds.
