Taliban stop planes of evacuees from leaving but unclear why

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Officials say at least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people seeking to escape the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have been unable to leave the country for days. Conflicting accounts emerged Sunday about why the flights weren’t able to take off as pressure ramps up on the United States to help those left behind to flee. An Afghan official at a northern airport said that the would-be passengers were Afghans. He said many did not have passports or visas so were unable to leave the country. He said they had left the airport. The top Republican on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, however, said that the group included Americans and they were sitting on the planes, but the Taliban were not letting them leave. He didn’t say where that information came from.