Over 18,000 people evacuated from Kabul since takeover: Nato

KABUL • More than 18,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since the Taleban took over Afghanistan's capital, a Nato official said yesterday, pledging to redouble evacuation efforts as criticism of the West's handling of the crisis intensified.

Thousands of people, desperate to flee the country, were still thronging the airport, the official, who declined to be identified, said, even though the Taleban has urged people without legal travel documents to go home.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States was "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria during the evacuation. Kabul has been largely calm, except in and around the airport, where 12 people have been killed since Sunday, Nato and Taleban officials said.

Criticism of Nato and other Western powers has risen as images of the chaos and desperate fear of Taleban rule were shared around the world. An Afghan footballer who played for the national youth team fell to his death after trying to cling to a US plane airlifting people out of Taleban-controlled Kabul, a sports federation said on Thursday.

The General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports of Afghanistan confirmed the death of Mr Zaki Anwari in the mayhem that erupted at the airport in the capital this week.

"Anwari, like thousands of Afghan youth, wanted to leave the country, but fell off a US plane and died," the group said in a statement posted on Facebook.

In a harrowing video from the airport on Monday, hundreds of people were seen running alongside a US Air Force plane as it gathered speed on the runway - several men desperately holding onto the side. Further clips on social media appeared to show two people falling to their deaths from a C-17 aircraft after it took off.

US President Joe Biden was set to speak about the evacuation efforts yesterday, having faced criticism over the troop withdrawal, negotiated by the previous administration.

The governments of Germany and Australia have also faced calls to do more and speed up the evacuation of citizens and Afghans.

A US lawmaker said the Taleban was using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency to identify Afghans who worked for the United States. "They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in Congress to accelerate the evacuation of US-affiliated Afghans.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE