Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
A number of children Afghanistan lying covered in blood on the streets near Kabul airport as a result of being beaten and caned Taliban when trying to escape from the country.
The scene is immortal in a number of portraits taken by a correspondent journalist Los Angeles Times who is currently in Afghanistan, Marcus Yam.
In one photo, a father can be seen holding a child whose head is covered in blood. Another boy saw the child while crying, his clothes were also stained with blood.
In front of them lay a woman in black. The woman’s head was also full of blood that was pouring down her cheeks.
In another photo, it still looks the same scene, but with the addition of a child crying while looking up at the photographer.
Not only that, Yam also captured a number of moments when Afghans ran to the airport in Kabul so they could be evacuated immediately. They want to leave Afghanistan because the Taliban have been in control since last Sunday (15/8).
Not only the eyes, the ears of the children also hurt from the bullets shot by the Taliban members. According to Yam, the Taliban insurgents fired several times which they claimed were to maintain order.
In the midst of the chaos, the Afghans kept trying to reach the runway. They don’t care what plane they can take and in which direction, the important thing is to get out of Afghanistan.
Most residents register with representatives of foreign countries that provide evacuation services, such as the United Kingdom and the United States. However, every flight provided must be immediately attacked.
They have to wait at the shelter posts established by each country. A British soldier told The Independent that his country gathered Afghans asking for evacuation in the vicinity of the Baron Hotel.
The hotel is located on one of the streets near the airport. Along the road from these posts to the airport, members of the Taliban stood guard while carrying AK-47 rifles.
It was at this point that the Taliban often beat him. Not only men and small children, the Taliban also beat women, even those who were holding babies.
A number of British soldiers who served at the airport said they often saw Afghan mothers willing to climb the airport walls to throw their babies at security forces.
“The mothers were desperate. They were beaten by the Taliban. They screamed, ‘Save my baby,’ and threw their babies at us. Some babies fell on the barbed wire,” said one of the British soldiers.
He then said, “What happened was heartbreaking. At night, there wasn’t a single person among us who didn’t cry.”
The incident of beating the Afghans also reached the ears of the United States government. White House Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said he would contact the Taliban, because the group had promised to keep the residents safe.
“We are closely monitoring everything and are very focused on getting the Taliban to really keep their promises,” Sullivan said The Guardian.
The White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, then issued a threat if the Taliban did not fulfill their promise.
“The consequence is the use of US military force. We have confirmed that,” he said.
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