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Plans called for 33 US Air Force C-17s to head to Hamid Karzai International Airport within the next 24 hours, the source said. Each of the large four-engine aircraft has the capacity to force 400 passengers out of Kabul, “which should make a decent dent” among the 20,000 people who are on the airport grounds trying to get out of Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of most of the country last week, the source said.
But the source said Washington was changing its policy on who would be allowed at the airport and, as of Monday, only US citizens and green card holders and citizens of NATO countries would be allowed through the gates. of the airport.
They said the Taliban are now helping screen applicants seeking entry into the airport, checking their documents. Only immediate family members such as spouses and children may be brought to the base by eligible US or NATO citizens.
Even with the new restrictions, thousands of Afghans, mostly men of military age without “no papers”, remained on the airport grounds, the source said. They had arrived on the second day during the “everyone fit in” time frame in inbound screening.
The source said there was “no plan to kick people out of the airport,” potentially leaving thousands in limbo.
One of the reasons for the chaos was the decision to issue electronic visas, without a name or document number, to SIV applicants. The visas were then copied as screenshots and sent by Afghans to thousands of other Afghans who were not eligible to access the airport, a source told CNN over the weekend.
“I don’t think the consulate, or frankly the administration, realizes how fucked up they were sending that stupid visa and letting everyone in for 24 straight hours,” the source said on Monday. .
“Some people say there is no way to get those who are currently at the airport out of here in four days,” the source added.
Flights that do not reduce the number at the airport
Although flights from the United States and partner countries have taken more than 30,000 people out of Kabul airport since August 14 – including some 5,000 over a 12-hour period on Sunday, according to an official with the White House – the airport was still swarming with people trying to get on an outgoing plane.
The source said it was not clear how the massive number of flights did not appear to reduce their overall total and suggested there may be a separate channel in which Afghan security forces, helping to patrol the perimeter. base, would have their own ways of getting people to know them on the airport grounds, increasing the numbers.
“I don’t know what they were doing, but there are always local staff fighting at the gates and can’t even get in,” a source close to the situation told CNN, referring to Afghans employed by the states. -United.
The families were separated and sent to different countries, the source added. It was “not on purpose and not really the fault of US officials, but they either choose to come separately or go their separate ways along the way,” they said.
“They’ve had instances where mom, dad and kids all end up in different countries,” the source said.
Afghan killed by sniper fire
On Monday morning, chaos continued, when snipers killed a member of the Afghan security forces helping to secure the base, a source told CNN.
The sniper’s affiliation was unclear, the source said.
In the confusion, Afghan forces retaliated, but in the direction of some US Marines, who themselves opened fire, wounding four Afghans, the source said.
All four are in stable condition and there have been no American casualties, the source said.
Nearly 20 people are believed to have died from shoving or gunfire around the airport over the past week.
Seven Afghan civilians died in crashes near Kabul airport on Saturday, a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) told CNN.
One crash took place outside the airport itself while another occurred outside the Baron Hotel, the spokesperson said.
“The conditions on the ground remain extremely difficult, but we are doing everything possible to handle the situation as safely and securely as possible,” said the spokesperson for the Defense Ministry.
Earlier in the week, Reuters reported that a total of 12 people had also been killed in and around the airport since the Taliban captured Kabul last Sunday. The report, which CNN was unable to independently verify, cited NATO sources and Taliban officials.
Japan sends transport planes
Meanwhile, on Monday, Japan joined the list of countries sending military transport planes to Kabul.
Japanese chief secretary Katsunobu Kato said a Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF) plane would fly to the Afghan capital on Monday, and more are expected in the coming days.
JSDF flights would bring back Japanese citizens – some of whom worked for the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other organizations – and Afghans working at the Japanese embassy or with Japanese missions, Kato said.
CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, Brad Lendon, Emiko Jozuka, Sheena McKenzie and Sam Kiley contributed to this report.
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