As various governments in partnership with various organizations evacuate those in Afghanistan, a former U.S. Navy Seal revealed that the Taliban are now confiscating U.S. documents from Americans trapped there.
WND reported that former U.S. Navy Seal Ephraim Mattos disclosed that U.S. documents are being confiscated by the Taliban in an interview with The Washington Post.
"U.S. passports, driver's licenses--they are confiscating those pieces of documentation from American citizens. They lose proof of who they are, and this has happened on multiple occasions in multiple places," Mattos said.
Mattos is the founder of Stronghold Rescue and Relief that currently helps evacuate those who helped the U.S. and Afghan interpreters. Mattos expressed his anguish for those who would not be evacuated and stressed their need for support being "allies."
"These people are our allies; we fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them. I saw them fight just as bravely as any American soldier, and they deserve our support. What our country is doing to them now is a complete disgrace. What is happening is significantly worse than Saigon," Mattos said.
An Afghan-American, whose name was not disclosed, testified on Mattos' statement that the Taliban confiscate documents. He said that the Taliban took his passport and would have not given it back had it not been for a U.S. Marine who forced him to return it. The said Afghan-American now lives in the United States.
"I got to the gates and was about to show my passport, but the Taliban got it, and he said you are not allowed to go through and wouldn't give it back. I was lucky a U.S. Marine was right there and forced him to give it back," he recounted.
WND highlighted that the Taliban's new strategy of acting out as "security guards" by "confiscating passport at checkpoints leading to" the Kabul Airport is their latest tactic to derail those who hope to flee Afghanistan. This is on top of Taliban reported for intimidating and beating people who are evacuating.
The New York Times added that "panic flared" in Afghanistan when the ISIS was reported to be in the area on Saturday following a security alert released by the United States Embassy in Kabul for Americans not to go to the airport. The panic drove Afghans to the airport, causing a stampede that left a 2-year-old child as casualty.
Walla News Diplomatic Correspondent Barak Ravid tweeted a video on Saturday showing the scene at Kabul Airport where the area is literally filled wall to wall with people such that movement has become "impossible."
"The scene at Kabul airport several hours ago per source from an NGO who is trying to get people out. Main problem is that it's impossible to pass the gates and get to the planes even if you are on an evacuees list," Ravid remarked.
Puck News Washington Correspondent Julia Ioffe, on the other hand, revealed that the U.S. Embassy have "destroyed Afghan passports" submitted to them in a tweet last August 18. Ioffe's post included a screen capture of a notice from New Jersey Representative Andy Kim that said all "passports that were in the Embassy's possession have been destroyed." The notice spoke of the cancellation of passport and visa appointments and the impossibility of providing "any further visa services in Afghanistan."
"According to @AndyKimNJ's congressional office, Afghan passports that were submitted to the U.S. embassy for visa processing have been destroyed," Ioffe announced.
