Kabul

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Janez Janša said on Sunday the Eu would “not open any ‘humanitarian’ or migration corridors to Afghanistan” or allow the repeat of 2015.

A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul's international airport killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military said on Aug. 22, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Taliban's takeover of the country.

class='cf'>

Some 357 people, including 16 infants, evacuated from Afghanistan's capital Kabul arrived in Istanbul on Aug. 22. 

class='cf'>

They were first taken to Pakistan on a Turkish Air Force transport plane and then brought to Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight.

President Joe Biden said on Aug. 22 the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport picked up speed this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

class='cf'>

About 10.000 people have been processed, but they cannot leave Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport because Qatar does not have the capacity to accept people from Afghanistan, one soldier confirmed to CNN journalist Clarissa Ward.

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Kabul on Aug. 21 for talks on establishing a new "inclusive" government in Afghanistan, a senior official said.

class='cf'>

Other senior Taliban leaders seen in the capital in recent days include Khalil Haqqani - one of America's most wanted terrorists with a $5 million bounty on his head.

As many as 104 more Turkish nationals were flown out from Afghanistan's capital in a C-130 transport aircraft of the Turkish Air Force on Aug. 20. 

class='cf'>

Efforts to evacuate Turkish citizens from the war-torn country continue at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, and the citizens were rescued by Turkish security forces from areas in central Kabul.

The president of Turkey and premier of Greece on Aug. 20 discussed recent developments in Afghanistan and the issue of migration in a phone call.

class='cf'>

As scenes of chaos and desperation have unfolded in Kabul, the response of EU leaders has varied from impassioned calls on the Taliban to allow refugees to leave to expressions of concerns over women's rights.

Beyond the hand-wringing, however, one theme stands out.

Over 18,000 people were evacuated from Kabul airport since the Taliban took over the main Afghanistan city, a NATO official said. Taliban militants controlling access to the airport have fired shots into the air to disperse approaching crowds, BBC reported. Only in the past 24 hours some 5,000 people managed to escape through the airport, which is being run by specially deployed US troops.