TRAPPED IN HELL
Toddler trampled to death as 7 killed in Kabul airport stampede as Afghan families flee – but Taliban blame US for chaos
AT LEAST seven people including a toddler were crushed to death in a stampede at Kabul airport as desperate families attempt to flee the Taliban.
Carnage reigns as thousands trying to escape from Afghanistan continue to descended on the last escape route as they hope to get aboard a plane travelling to the West.
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Harrowing scenes - described as some of the worst since the Taliban took over - occurred yesterday as there was a horrific crush and stampede outside the airport as crowds surged amid gunfire.
Men, women and children were crushed together in 31C heat - many without provisions - as there were reports of people collapsing from exhaustion and asphyxiation.
Taliban officials however have blamed the US for the carnage - saying "America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport".
"There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport," said official Amir Khan Mutaqi .
One mum, a former interpreter, revealed her two-year-old daughter was trampled to death as the family attempted to get to the airport, reports the .
The unnamed woman told how the crowd surged as the family was thrown the ground, with other desperate escapees simply trampling them.
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She couldn't breathe and when she came to her feet she searched for her daughter, only to find the little girl dead.
"I felt pure terror. I couldn’t save her," she said.
The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that seven Afghan civilians have been killed trying to flee the Taliban in the crush.
A spokesman added: "Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible."
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Meanwhile, another Afghan woman - named only as Sara - told she had witnessed at least 15 people - including children shot dead since the Taliban took power last Sunday.
"Please, get us out of here. The situation is very bad, we are trapped in a hell," she said.
Sara described the scenes outside the airport with crowds packed so tightly you cannot breath - with the situation growing worse every day as supplies run low amid a putrid stench of rubbish.
She said: "There is violence everywhere but every gate we go to is closed and no one gives us any information or shows any mercy."
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Sky News reporter Stuart Ramsay yesterday also described the "utterly horrendous scenes" and "absolute pandemonium" at the airport as he witnesses people "crushed to death".
British and US troops were "firing into the air" to try make people step back, while the shouts for "medics and stretchers is almost continuous", Mr Ramsey explained.
NATO estimates around 20 people have been killed during evacuation operations around Kabul Airport.
Other videos from today appear to show US soldiers firing into the air and using trucks to control a crowd who made it onto the landing strip.
British paratroopers are desperately trying to manage to chaos at the airport amid fears the evacuation mission could collapse in days - with the West in a race against time to evacuate its citizens and refugees.
Images released by the Ministry of Defence show a packed RAF plane whose passengers included citizens from Afghanistan eligible to settle in Britain as four women were crushed to death in chaotic scenes to escape.
But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said "no nation will be able to get everyone out" of Afghanistan as he predicted growing crowds at Kabul airport as "desperate people" race to escape the Taliban.
Yet the Cabinet minister looked to assure those who are almost certain to be left behind that the UK will continue to work to repatriate them even once troops are home.
It comes as Taliban death squads are reportedly pulling people from their homes and executing them as they step up the hunt for anyone who helped the US and UK.
Writing for the Mail on Sunday, the Cabinet minister called the retreat of allied forces "unedifying" and warned that the events of the past weeks "will have consequences for us all for years to come".
He said: "I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out.
"It is a source of deep sadness for many of us across Nato, and no-one wanted 20 years of sacrifice to end this way.
"We will do our best to the very last moment.
"But it isn't the end. We shall stand by our obligations and are investigating now how to process people from third countries and refugee camps."
Mr Wallace said the UK would establish a series of processing hubs across the region outside Afghanistan for those Afghans the UK has an obligation to take in.
And he said the latest issue at Kabul airfield is that there are "too many people in the airport", bringing about "a suspension of access".
The Ministry of Defence stressed, however, that the suspension applied only to the US-side of the operation at Hamid Karzai International, and that neither UK flights nor processing was affected by the pause.
Nearly 4,000 people had been evacuated by Britain from Afghanistan since August 13.
Sky News said it had spoken to British troops at the airport who, having served in Afghanistan previously, said the queues, crushing and desperation of people to get out of the country were the worst scenes they had witnessed during their service.
Meanwhile, the US has warned its citizens due to "potential security threats outside the gates".
Sir Laurie Bristow, Britain’s ambassador in Afghanistan, said: "The scale of this effort is enormous and is without a doubt the biggest international challenge I have worked on as a diplomat.
I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
"Lives are at stake and I am incredibly proud of the tenacious efforts of my team during these challenging times, with military and civilian staff working together to successfully evacuate thousands of people in the last week.
"We will continue to work tirelessly to get British nationals, Afghan staff and others at risk out of the country as quickly as possible as we also support Afghanistan's long-term future."
UK PM Boris Johnson has paid tribute to Sir Laurie and his team who are aiding repatriation efforts at Kabul airport.
Mr Johnson told reporters after an emergency Government meeting that the situation in the central Asian country was "slightly better", although the airport scenario has since worsened.
'TENSIONS BETWEEN UK AND US'
But it is a race against time.
US President Joe Biden signalled he wanted the evacuations completed by the end of the month — a move that would likely force Britain to wrap up its operation at the same time.
"Officials said they were continuing to "work closely" with US military partners to "ensure the security and viability of the evacuation mission in Kabul".
But there are reports of tension between Washington and London, with claims the UK Government was kept in the dark about the timetable for the US withdrawal of its armed forces.
Further British troops are being held "at readiness in the region and the UK" to move to Afghanistan "at speed" if required, the MoD said.
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The MoD is looking at establishing hubs in countries such as Pakistan and Turkey.
In a briefing on Saturday, the US Department of Defense said 17,000 people have been flown out of the airport, including some 2,500 US citizens.
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British paratroopers try to control chaos at Kabul airport as women and children crushed in stampede to escape Taliban
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