Evacuation flights were temporarily halted at the Kabul airport on Monday after Afghans seeking to flee the country flooded the tarmac.
“At this time, out of an abundance of caution, there are no flights coming or going, military or civilian, and this is because of large crowds that are still on the tarmac, on the southern side of the field, the civilian side of the field. U.S. military forces are on the scene working alongside Turkish and other international troops to clear the area of people. We do not know how long this will take,” Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
A U.S official told Fox News that the runway at the Hamid Karzai International Airport was “not secure” enough as Afghan civilians breached security.
U.S. troops stationed at the airport reportedly fired shots into the air in an effort to control the crowds.
A military official told CBS News that U.S. troops also killed two armed Afghan civilians who breached airport security, CBS News reported.
Videos surfaced showing Afghan civilians frantically trying to hold on to planes leaving the country.
“We’ve certainly seen all the dramatic video coming from the airport today and we obviously don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” Kirby added. “So we’re going to work methodically in coming hours to restore a safe and secure environment so that air operations can resume.”
The government of Afghanistan fell on Sunday after Taliban fighters entered the capital of Kabul.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country after the Taliban entered the capital, saying that didn’t want to see more bloodshed in his country.
–Rebecca Kheel contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:16 p.m.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul was also evacuated.