Kabul Airport Operations Resume
As Turkey drops Kabul airport plans, officials say the operations at Kabul's airport have resumed after a pause.
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The airfield at Kabul's airport had been reopened
A Western security official has reported that Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul resumed flights early on Tuesday.
“The airport runway and tarmac, which were overrun by thousands of people desperate to flee the Afghan capital on Monday, are now clear of crowds”, according to the official.
Due to the chaos, US forces, which control the airport, halted the evacuation flights and fired live ammunition to disperse the crowd, which led to the killing of some Afghan civilians.
The Pentagon stated on Monday that the airfield at Kabul's airport had been reopened after a pause earlier in the day.
US Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters at the Pentagon that a C-17 with US Marines aboard had landed earlier in the day, and a C-17 was expected to land at a later time in the day.
Taylor added that the airport reopened at 1:35 p.m. Monday night.
He went on to say that there are currently about 2,500 US troops in Kabul, adding that there would be between 3,000 and 3,500 US troops by the end of Monday.
“Our focus is now on security at Hamid Karzai International Airport and traffic regulation,” Taylor concluded.
In another light, two Turkish sources confirmed on Monday that Turkey has dropped plans to control Kabul airport after NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan but is ready to provide the Taliban support at their request.
The Taliban has demanded that Turkey withdraw its forces from Afghanistan after Turkey offered to guard and run Kabul's airport as the United States and other NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
