While finger-pointing and predictions of political fallout abound in the U.S. over a bungled Afghanistan withdrawal, thousands of people left behind are still searching for an exit. Jarring images capture the chaos in Kabul and other cities as those displaced head to makeshift camps, while others mob passport offices and airports in hopes of getting out of harm’s way. For many Afghans—especially those known to have worked with Western governments or media outlets—time is of the essence to escape Taliban rule.
A U.S. soldier points his gun toward an Afghan passenger at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021.
By WAKIL KOHSAR/Getty Images.
Thousands of Afghans rush to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they try to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021.
By Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
As many are desperate to have their travel documents ready to go, Afghans wait in long lines for hours at the passport office on August 14, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
Taliban patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.
From EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.
An Afghan family rushes to the Hamid Karzai International Airport as they flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021.
From Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
Displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Shahr-e-Naw Park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
Afghans and travelers pass through checkpoints at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021, ahead of the Taliban’s arrival.
By Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times/Redux.
Afghan police conduct their duties after the Taliban take over Kandahar, Afghanistan, on August 15, 2021.
From EPA-EFE/Shutterstock.
A woman yells for her family to hurry up as displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Shahr-e-Naw Park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
Displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Shahr-e-Naw Park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
Afghan people sit as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group’s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule.
By WAKIL KOHSAR/Getty Images.
Displaced Afghans from the northern provinces are evacuated from a makeshift IDP camp in Shahr-e-Naw Park to various mosques and schools on August 12, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021.
By WAKIL KOHSAR/Getty Images.
U.S. soldiers stand guard as Afghan people wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021.
By WAKIL KOHSAR/Getty Images.
Afghan people sit along the tarmac as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021.
By WAKIL KOHSAR/Getty Images.
Displaced Afghans head into Kabul, Afghanistan, from the northern provinces after desperately leaving their homes behind on August 10, 2021.
By Paula Bronstein/Getty Images.