Children left ‘stranded in Kabul’ as Brit waves passport and begs PM to help – World News

Footage showed the man, who speaks with a northern accent, brandishing the passport before the camera pans to children who have reportedly been left after their parents were allowed entry into the embassy

A man was filmed appearing to wave a British passport at authorities in Afghanistan as children were reportedly left abandoned in the street.

Footage showed the man, who speaks with a northern accent, brandishing the passport before the camera pans to children who have reportedly been left after their parents were allowed entry into the embassy.

The man told ITV: “I’m a British citizen, my kids are British and we’re stuck here, they closed the door on us and they’re shooting at us.

“My message for the prime minister is, just get us out of here otherwise my kids are struggling and we’re all in a big mess here.

“The British Army is right behind these fences, they’ve closed the gate and they’re not letting no one in.”

Crowds were filmed trying to enter the temporary British embassy today, but many were turned away as Taliban fighters fired guns into the air.

Taliban fighters told a British medical student “we would shoot you dead if we weren’t under pressure from the international community” as he tried to get into Kabul airport.

The threat is a chilling foretaste of what could await those who have helped the British and American troops if they are unable to get on the last evacuation flights, the student said.

The 25-year-old, who asked not to be named, was born in Afghanistan but moved to the UK in 2010 and was granted citizenship in 2015. He is now going into the third year of his medical studies.

He had travelled to his home country to marry and had intended to sponsor his wife to join him only once he had completed his studies and had his own home and a job.

Instead the couple were forced to flee the Taliban, finally managing to leave the country on their fourth attempt at getting into Kabul airport following an eight-hour wait at a checkpoint.

They are now quarantining in a hotel in south London, and have no idea what they will do once the 10 days is up as they cannot afford accommodation.

The student told the PA news agency: “The Taliban were just firing aimlessly in the air – there were gunshots to scare people off, they were treating everyone like a herd of sheep, not as humans.”

He added: “Because they couldn’t manage the crowd they would whip women, the elderly, the children, whoever was in their way.

“I think the Taliban hasn’t changed, they are the same.”

One fighter told the student: “If we were not under pressure from international society we would have shot you dead because of your passport.”

Those already in the airfield said their families had already faced intimidation and threats from the Taliban because of their links to the British, he said.

“The interpreters and security forces who had worked alongside the British soldiers, they told me ‘Now the Taliban are looking for us, they have knocked on our doors, they have asked our relatives where we are’,” the student said.

“Thankfully the British did their job, and kept the promises they had made to save their lives.”

He added: “The soldiers were very welcoming and we felt safe once they allowed us to go into the camp.

“The servicemen and women made us feel safe and they did all that they could given the situation.”