Smoke rises from explosion outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021.
People fled from the sound of gunfire near the main gate to Kabul airport on Saturday as Taliban forces shot into the air in an attempt to control crowds of desperate people. Coloured smoke also clouded the area.
Thousands of Afghans are still gathering outside the airport in Kabul hoping to leave the country, even after a devastating suicide attack on Thursday killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members and amid warnings of more attacks.
The massive U.S.-led airlift is winding down, with many Western nations having completed their own evacuation efforts ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Meanwhile, the country could be facing a rapid economic decline.
Hundreds of Afghans protested outside a bank in Kabul on Saturday and others formed long lines at cash machines as a U.N. agency warned that a worsening drought could leave millions in need of humanitarian aid.
With AP inputs
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