'Mr. President, please evacuate us': US woman stranded in Kabul pleads for Biden's help

An American woman stranded in Kabul recently claimed that she was whipped by the Taliban and had to witness another man being shot to death while trying to make their way to the airport to flee the war-torn country. Fox News reported that the woman, whose identity has been withheld for security concerns, said there are 20 checkpoints manned by armed Taliban fighters between her location and the Kabul international airport. She is currently in hiding with family members and Afghan allies. 

The American woman revealed that she was whipped by an insurgent on her way to the airport, while a man next to her was shot in the head, leaving his wife and child in tears. As she cannot make her way to the airport, she appealed to US President Joe Biden to get her out of Afghanistan, which the Taliban took over on Sunday. "Every moment that a car passes by, I feel like they are going to pull in and execute us. I don't know if I'm going to see my children again," she said. 

According to the audio recording sent to West Virginia Representative Carol Miller’s office, the woman said that the situation in Afghanistan was “dire, even hopeless”. She alleged that the Taliban militants have been going door-to-door, rounding up people who worked with the US military or NATO. The woman said that she would instead take her own life than be captured by the insurgent group. 

“Hour by hour it’s getting more difficult... I feel like the Taliban out there are gonna come in and kill us. Please, Mr. President, please evacuate us. We need help," the woman pleaded. 

According to reports, the woman’s husband, who is in the US state of Virginia with their children, fears that the Taliban could impose an internet blackout to shut down means of communication and keep the rest of the world in the dark about any human rights violations. The US embassy in Kabul, on the other hand, has issued a new security warning telling Americans in Afghanistan not to travel to the Kabul airport without instruction from a US government representative. A new threat from the Islamic States has also forced the US to release security advisory for its citizens. 

Biden promises to evacuate Americans in Afghan

Meanwhile, the Pentagon informed that the US had evacuated some 17,000 people from Afghanistan since August 14. US Major General Hank Taylor added that six military C-17 planes and 32 charter flights had departed Kabul airport in the past 24 hours with 3,800 people aboard. The US military also sent helicopters to rescue over 150 Americans unable to reach the airport gates. 

Biden has promised to help any American in Afghanistan seeking to evacuate, saying, "Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home”. He said that ​​his administration is also committed to evacuating Afghans who assisted the United States during its 20-year war in Afghanistan. The exact number of Afghans who qualify for evacuation is unclear, but it is believed to number in the tens of thousands.

Image Credit: AP