U.S. troops charging money to Afghans to leave country​

Kabul, August 25 (RHC)-- The U.S. forces stationed at Kabul’s international airport have reportedly been extorting money from Afghan nationals trying to flee the chaos in their homeland, following the collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

Iran’s Nour News reported Tuesday that U.S. Marines -- who control sections of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to oversee evacuation of Americans -- were demanding anything between $500 and $2000 from desperate Afghan nationals in exchange for helping them leave in special U.S. planes.

Citing Afghans who have left the country, the report said the U.S. forces at the Kabul airport turned away those who were unable to shell out the requisite extortion money.  

The Taliban, who laid siege to the Afghan capital last week after stunning military advances across the country, currently control the Kabul city, where the country’s only functional airport is located.  A total of 6,000 U.S. troops are present at the highly-fortified airport, primarily to facilitate the evacuation of stranded foreign diplomats and Afghans, especially those who worked with the United States.

The Biden administration has pledged to evacuate thousands of Afghan refugees, allies and American civilians out of the war-torn country before the end of the month.  But, there have been reports that some Afghan military interpreters who worked for the Americans have also been turned away from the Kabul airport in order to give priority to U.S. citizens.