- Title: Kabul streets deserted at night amid safety concerns
- Date: 28th August 2021
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 28, 2021) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VIEW OF KABUL AT NIGHT LIGHT STREET TRAFFIC FRUIT SHOPS STREET WITH FEW BYSTANDERS (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT, RAHIM, SAYING: "Currently the shops are closing at 10 pm, but these shops used to be open till midnight or 1 am, because people are afraid of a possible incident. That's why people close their shops and go to home." MEN PASSING BY FOOD CARTS OPEN SHOPS (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) KABUL RESIDENT, GHAFOOR, SAYING: "Patients need their medicine. I came here to get medicine but the pharmacies are closed." VIEW OF KABUL WITH LIGHT TRAFFIC
- Embargoed: 11th September 2021 21:39
- Keywords: Afghanistan Afghanistan conflict Kabul Taliban
- Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- City: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA001ES71L53
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: QUALITY AS INCOMING
The Afghan capital of Kabul was quiet on Saturday night (August 28) as the United States and allied forces are rushing to evacuate as many people as possible before the Aug. 31 deadline.
While Kabul's airport has seen scenes of chaos, the rest of the city has been generally calm.
However, people are scared, the residents said. Traffic was thin and most shops closed early.
"Currently the shops are closing at 10 pm, but these shops used to be open till midnight or 1 am, because people are afraid of a possible incident. That's why people close their shops and go home."
said Kabul resident Rahim.
Another resident, Ghafoor said he was out to get medicine for a patient but the drug stores closed early.
The Taliban have told residents to hand over government equipment including weapons and vehicles within a week, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
U.S. troops have begun their withdrawal from Kabul airport, the Pentagon said on Saturday, following a two-week scramble by Washington and its allies to fly out their nationals and Afghans at risk of reprisals under Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers.
As it neared the end of a 20-year military involvement in the country, the United States said it had killed two Islamic State militants planning attacks in Afghanistan, following a deadly suicide bombing outside the airport on Thursday.
American officials also warned of a high risk of further attacks by the group - enemies of both the West and the Taliban - as it winds up its mission by a Tuesday deadline set by President Joe Biden.
The Western-backed government and Afghan army melted away as the hardline Islamist militants entered the capital on Aug. 15, leaving an administrative vacuum that has bolstered fears of a financial collapse and widespread hunger.
The last British flight evacuating civilians from Afghanistan left Kabul on Saturday, bringing to an end an operation that has airlifted almost 15,000 Afghan and British citizens in the two weeks since the Taliban took control.
(Production Shahabuddin Shahab, Waseem Sattar, Hedy Beloucif) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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