WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — The U.S. embassy in Kabul advised U.S. citizens not to travel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport at this time, according to an embassy security alert.
Citizens already at the airport’s Abbey Gate, East Gate and North Gate were advised to leave immediately, said the security alert.
“Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a U.S. government representative to do so,” the statement read in full.
Since the Taliban seized the Afghan capital on Aug. 14, more than 82,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan in one of the largest U.S. airlifts in history. While the pace has picked up in recent days, it’s still a chaotic scramble as people seek to escape.
Afghans trying to reach the Kabul airport face a gauntlet of danger, and there are far more who want to leave than will be able to do so. Those who do make it out will face the many challenges of resettlement, either in the U.S. or somewhere else.
And time is running out. President Joe Biden set an Aug. 31 deadline to complete the U.S.-led evacuation.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.