A near-empty mercy flight has taken off from Kabul carrying the wife of an ex-Royal Marine commando but almost nobody else - despite western nations offering to take thousands of desperate Afghans out of the country after abandoning it to the Taliban.
Paul 'Pen' Farthing, a British expat who lives in Kabul, has been separated from his wife during the chaos engulfing Afghanistan. He said on Twitter that she is now on her way home, and shared an image of the inside of what is believed to be a Norwegian plane.
'Kaisa is on her way home! BUT this aircraft is empty… scandalous as thousands wait outside Kabul airport being crushed as they cannot get in. Sadly people will be left behind when this mission is over as we CANNOT get it right', the ex-Marine wrote.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted that Britain is using 'every space possible' on its rescue flights and stressed 'every hour counts' in the evacuation effort. He added that Western forces are working to ensure 'not a single seat is wasted'.
However, there have been reports this week of evacuation flights leaving Afghanistan with just a handful of people on board - despite thousands of trapped foreign nationals and locals all struggling to escape the threat of persecution under the new regime.
In one shocking case, a German Airbus A-400M with space for 150 people took off with just seven on board. While UK planes have carried significantly more people, analysis of the figures shows there must have been empty seats on at least some of those flights - despite assurances to the contrary.
Ministers have also been told that the last evacuation flight could leave Kabul in five days - before the planned US withdrawal from Afghanistan - and that the accelerated timetable could result in more British nationals and Afghans being left behind.
Government sources said ministers have 'not agreed any date for either the end of the evacuation or the departure of the military', and would prefer an orderly evacuation over a longer period than a hasty 24-hour scuttle.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in Washington that 6,000 people were cleared for evacuation Thursday and were expected to board military flights in coming hours.
Westerners and visa holders trying to get to their flights say they are unable to get to the gates because of the crowd of up to 50,000 desperate locals who are gathering outside the airport and begging US and British troops to let them through.
US troops have been firing warning shots to disperse thousands of desperate Afghans outside the airport, with footage taken on Wednesday night showing stun grenades flashing beside the perimeter. Expats who tried to get through the gate claimed the shots were fired by Western forces.
At the main entrance, Taliban fighters periodically fire into the air to clear the crowd in an attempt to disperse the crowd - but video of the fighters unleashing a volley of automatic fire shows the terrifying gauntlet evacuees have to negotiate.
A shocking image shows a near-empty evacuation flight taking the wife of an ex-Royal Marine commando out of Kabul as the Taliban block thousands of Afghans from entering the capital's airport. Paul 'Pen' Farthing said on Twitter: 'Kaisa is on her way home! BUT this aircraft is empty… scandalous as thousands wait outside #Kabul airport being crushed as they cannot get in. Sadly people will be left behind when this mission is over as we CANNOT get it right'
A baby is handed over to the American army over the perimeter wall of the airport for it to be evacuated, in Kabul
General view showing people near the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 19, 2021
Evacuees boarding a C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Kabul, August 18, 2021
US Marines assigned to 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit escort evacuees during an evacuation at Kabul airport
Westerners and visa holders trying to get to their flights say they are unable to get to the gates because of the crowd of up to 50,000 desperate locals who are gathering outside the airport and begging US and British troops to let them through
British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan getting on a RAF plane before being relocated to the UK
US troops at Kabul airport are using tear gas to control crowds of frantic Afghans who are trying to climb over to be put on evacuation flights. Footage shows shots being fired into the air in the darkness to disperse crowds
Taliban gunmen open fire at crowds outside Kabul airport today as westerners and visa holders say they cannot get inside because of 'huge crowds' of 'terrified locals'
Those on the ground say Taliban guards have little idea who to let inside the airport, while dishing out beatings, lashings and firing shots seemingly at random - causing further panic and chaos
Taliban fighters have now encircled the airport in Kabul and are deciding who gets to come in and who has to stay out. Checkpoints have been set up on both the civilian south side of the airport and the military north side, with gunshots fired in both locations to keep crowds back
Babies were thrown over barbed wire towards troops at Kabul airport in a desperate bid to get them out of the country as the west's ignominious exit from Afghanistan continued
A young girl is passed to US soldiers guarding Hamid Karzai airport amid a desperate scramble to get out of the country by tens of thousands of Afghans who don't want to be ruled by the Taliban
A British soldier carries an Afghan girl away from crowds at the gate, as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today urged people not to pass their children to troops because they will not get a seat on flights out
Satellite images have revealed the extent of the crisis at Kabul airport, with cars crammed up against the southern civilian entrance and northern military entrance that can be seen from satellites
Taliban fighters were seen shooting over the heads of crowds, striking people with rifles, while those on the ground reported beatings and whippings being dished out seemingly at random. Crowds have also gathered at the entrance to the military wing of the airport, which is guarded by US and British troops who have been firing into the air to disperse the crowds.
Westerners face a race against time to get out of Kabul, with control of the airport resting on the up to 60,000 troops. Joe Biden has said they will stay until all US citizens are evacuated, but there are suspicions among British troops that they could leave abruptly - leaving the 600 British unable to keep operating to evacuate UK nationals and interpreters.
Farthing told MailOnline that British troops fired warning shots over the heads of a mother who was clutching a small baby.
He said: 'There were a number of shots fired overhead and people started rushing around in panic. I don't know whether it was live rounds but even if it wasn't the fear factor is the same. It does nothing to resolve the matter and makes an already tense situation much worse.'
While US and UK troops have said that firing warning shots is a last resort, the Taliban are causing pandemonium and were filmed today shooting from the hip just yards away from women and children, and whacking people with the butts of their rifles.
Such is the desperation among crowds at the airport that women have resorted to passing babies over barbed wire to soldiers in a vain attempt to get them out of the country.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's job was hanging by a thread last night as it emerged the crucial phone call that was delegated to a junior minister never took place.
Tory MPs yesterday joined a ferocious backlash against Mr Raab over his failure to intervene while on holiday to help airlift translators out of Afghanistan. The Mail revealed yesterday that the Foreign Secretary had been advised by officials to interrupt his luxury trip to Crete on Friday to urgently contact his Afghan counterpart.
Mr Raab, however, failed to make the call and it was 'delegated' to the duty Foreign Office minister Lord Goldsmith. It was thought the telephone conversation had then taken place the following day.
But in an explosive development last night it emerged the call had never actually taken place. The Foreign Office admitted that as the Afghan regime collapsed, it had proved impossible to rearrange.
The revelation will intensify the pressure on Mr Raab, who yesterday faced a clamour to consider his position and resign.
Yesterday, he insisted he would not step down as he broke cover to hold a virtual meeting of G7 leaders. The Foreign Office released pictures of the Foreign Secretary at work and on the phone and said he was working to provide humanitarian assistance and support in Afghanistan.
Afghans who risked their lives by working as translators alongside British soldiers accused the Foreign Secretary of a 'betrayal' and warned that his failure to get urgent assistance could cost lives.
Angry Conservative MPs accused Mr Raab for being 'asleep at the wheel' and of lacking commitment to the job, with one Tory peer saying he should reflect on his future. Opposition parties meanwhile, said Mr Raab was guilty of a 'dereliction of duty' and called for him to be sacked.
Afghan translator Rafi Hottak, who was injured while alongside soldiers in Helmand, was among those to tell of his fury last night, saying: 'It is a betrayal.
'The priority should have been British citizens and those Afghans who helped them. They are trapped in chaos now and in the days and hours before the Taliban arrived anything that could have been done should have been done.'
And one angry Tory MP said: 'Raab was asleep at the wheel. Backbench MPs are absolutely livid about his 'not my problem guv' attitude, as if it was not his responsibility. It has really riled up colleagues. The issue is not that he was on holiday, it is that he seemed to be unaware of what was happening.'
Last night, a leaked United Nations report warned the Taliban were now plotting murderous revenge against those Afghans who had worked with the West. The head of the group providing intelligence to the UN warned the Taliban were carrying out a highly-organised door-to-door hunt for people on their wanted list.
Female demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul waving the black, red and green flag which has become a symbol of defiance to the country's jihadist rulers.
They were joined by thousands across the country who celebrated the 1919 handover of power from the British by rejecting their new overlords. It comes just a day after three were shot dead for flying the flag during protests.
The Taliban responded with beatings and gunfire while tearing down flags, despite their pledge to be a 'reformed' and 'moderate' version of the brutal outfit which controlled Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Islamists fighters have also been celebrating independence day in their own fashion - by flying their black and white flag and claiming victory over American forces.
The chaos outside the airport appears to be growing by the day and is causing dangerous stampedes in which several people have already been killed this week, including a 14-year-old girl.
Former British Marine, Mr Farthing, told MailOnline: 'Two expats - one British and one Norwegian - have already been forced to turn back this morning because they can't get through.
'And last night a UN convoy carrying various foreign nationals, who had been working in Afghanistan for NGOs, had to turn round because of the sheer volume of people on the street.'
An Afghan-Australian trying to leave the country also told ABC it is 'not possible' to get to the airport because there is 'lots of firing' and 'too many people' while Max Sangeen, a Canadian interpreter, said his wife and children - including a 20-day-old baby - are trapped in Kabul despite having the correct documents.
But it is not clear what western troops can do to help. There are around 6,000 American and 900 British soldiers at the airport - alongside smaller numbers of Turks and Australians - but their jurisdiction only extends up to the perimeter wall. Beyond that, the Taliban is in charge.
The huge US contingent keeping the airport secured piles pressure on Britain to get its citizens out quickly, with the smaller UK force unlikely to be able the hold the site if the Americans leave.
Those on the ground say the Islamists have little or no idea what they are doing or who to let through, as the UN warned fighters are hunting through the crowd for those who collaborated with British or American forces so they can be 'punished' - despite public reassurances that there will be no reprisal attacks.
Mr Wallace said Taliban guards are allowing people with travel documents through checkpoints and British flights are not leaving the country empty - insisting that 'not a single seat is wasted'. He revealed 120 people were evacuated this morning, with 138 due to follow later.
There were eight RAF transport planes - made up of A400 Atlas, C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemasters - scheduled to leave Kabul today. But with military transports able to carry up to 150, it means there will have been empty seats on the flights despite Mr Wallace's claims.
The passengers were made up of British citizens, media and human rights staff and Afghans who had worked for the British. The Ministry of Defence confirmed there were six British flights out of Kabul on Wednesday - despite Mr Wallace saying there were seven to 10 daily - meaning a maximum of 900 passengers were on board and free from the Taliban.
Meanwhile Joe Biden said when pressed Wednesday US troops were 'going to stay' in Afghanistan until they get American citizens out, even if it means running through an August 31 deadline order. The US President made the statement despite his own order soldiers will leave by the date, acknowledging the effort could run over if its citizens are still stuck in Afghanistan amid security and bureaucratic hurdles.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he expects 18 US flights to take off today, though it is not clear how many people will be able to board each plane.
But Farthing slammed the comments as naive, saying: 'Nobody can actually reach [the processing centre] because of the crowds and the chaos surrounding it.
'It's a lottery whether you get picked to get through the security. At the moment people who have seats booked on flights out of the airport are being turned back while others who storm fencing or are picked completely at random are getting on planes.
'I'm livid at the Government's mishandling of this, they need to take a moment, get their heads together, and work out a way with the Americans to help fly out ex-pats and those who need safety - like those who work for me - because otherwise we are looking at the worst humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan for a generation.'
A smiling boy moves between US troops as he makes his way through a security checkpoint within Kabul airport on Wednesday
A Marine checks two civilians during processing through an Evacuee Control Checkpoint within the secure perimeter of the airport in Kabul on Wednesday
Civilians prepare to board a plane during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Wednesday
Troops fired gunshots and let off stun grenades at the entrance to the northern military side of the airport overnight in a vain bid to keep crowds of thousands from rushing the gates
Tens of thousands of Afghans have gathered at the north and south entrances to Kabul airport in the hopes of securing a seat on western evacuation flights out of the country
Fawad Ahmadzai, another Canadian interpreter, said he and his family - a wife and four children - had been forced to 'fight' their way through guards to get to the airport terminal - saying they ignored his Canadian travel documents, beat him, and shot at him.
'I was waving at them that I am a Canadian citizen,' he said. 'They didn't even care about which passport I carry, they would only push us and hit us, and shooting ahead of us, scaring us so that we would leave.'
German national Vanessa Faizi, who had become trapped in Kabul after going to Afghanistan to visit family, spoke of violence at the airport before she managed to get a flight out.
'We saw children being trampled on,' she told journalists at an airport back in Germany.
Mr Wallace urged Afghan women not to pass babies to soldiers, saying unaccompanied children will not be put on flights. He did not say where the children will end up instead.
Elsewhere, Biden continued to defend his decision to withdraw - insisting chaos was inevitable while dismissing footage of people falling to their deaths from US planes as happening 'four or five days ago'.
Boris Johnson was also mauled over the British government's response to the crisis in a Commons debate, while foreign secretary Dominic Raab was facing calls to resign after it emerged he failed to make a crucial phone call about getting Afghan translators out of the country - delegating to a junior minister.
Labour MP Tom Tugendhat summed up the feeling of dismay when he said: 'This is what defeat looks like.'
Mr Wallace also warned of the long-term damage the retreat from Afghanistan will do to the perception of western power, saying the scenes playing out in Kabul will encourage enemies in Moscow.
'What I'm uncomfortable with is that we have a world order now, where resolve is perceived by our adversaries as weak, the West's resolve,' Wallace told BBC TV.
'That is something we should all worry about: if the West is seen not to have resolve and it fractures, then our adversaries like Russia find that encouraging,' Wallace told LBC radio.
Britain fears the Taliban's return and the vacuum left by the West's chaotic withdrawal will allow militants from al Qaeda to gain a foothold in Afghanistan, just 20 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
As the airlift of Western citizens and Afghans who worked for foreign governments sought to ramp up, Biden said US forces will remain until the evacuation of Americans was finished, even if that meant staying past the August 31 deadline for complete withdrawal.
In total, at least 8,000 people have been evacuated since Sunday, a Western security source in Kabul said.
Afghan women lead protesters through the streets of Kabul on Thursday as they mark independence day with a show of defiance against the Taliban
Hundreds were pictured marching national flag banners through the streets of Kabul, while more protests also took place in Khost, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces
Women led independence day protesters through the streets of Kabul today, waving the black, red and green national flag in defiance of the country's new Taliban rulers
Protesters fly the Afghan national flag behind a truck full of armed Taliban fighters in a brazen show of defiance
Taliban fighters have been filmed whipping women near Kabul airport as witnesses told MailOnline that the Islamists have been dealing out brutal beatings at random
Afghan citizens granted refuge by Britain disembark an RAF C-17 transport plane in Dubai on Thursday, before boarding a civilian transport plane to take them to the UK
Afghan citizen granted sanctuary by the UK disembark a C-17 transport plane in Dubai. Some 138 people were scheduled to be on the flight, though it is not clear how many made it
A British C-17 military transport taking Afghan refugees out of the country lands in Dubai on Thursday afternoon
A day earlier armed Taliban members prevented people from getting into the airport compound.
'It's a complete disaster. The Taliban were firing into the air, pushing people, beating them with AK47s,' said one person who was trying to get through on Wednesday.
A Taliban official said commanders and soldiers had fired into the air to disperse crowds outside Kabul airport, but told Reuters: 'We have no intention to injure anyone.'
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said domestic air carriers and civilian pilots will be allowed to fly into Kabul to conduct evacuation or relief flights only with prior US Defense Department approval.
Facing a barrage of criticism over the US withdrawal, Biden said chaos was inevitable. Asked in an interview with ABC News if the exit of US troops could have been handled better, Biden said: 'No. ... The idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens.'
A new government to replace that of President Ashraf Ghani, who is in exile in the United Arab Emirates, may take the form of a ruling council, with Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada in overall charge, a senior member of the group said.
Afghanistan would not be a democracy. 'It is sharia law and that is it,' Waheedullah Hashimi, a senior Taliban official, told Reuters.
Ghani, who has been bitterly criticised by former ministers for leaving Afghanistan as Taliban forces swept into Kabul on Sunday, said he had followed the advice of government officials. He denied reports he took large sums of money with him.
'If I had stayed, I would be witnessing bloodshed in Kabul,' Ghani said in a video streamed on Facebook.
Meanwhile the Taliban celebrated Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring it had beaten 'the arrogant of power of the world' in the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running the country's frozen government to potentially facing armed opposition began to emerge.
From ATMs being out of cash to worries about food across this nation of 38 million people reliant on imports, the Taliban face all the challenges of the civilian government they dethroned without the level of international aid it enjoyed.
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