A video of the tense, chaotic scene outside Kabul's airport shows fighters firing weapons Thursday into the air above a packed crowd and in some instances lowering their rifles to shoulder level as terrified people disperse. The harrowing video, raises concerns about violent force being deployed against thousands of civilians who have flocked to the airport in Afghanistan's capital in a desperate attempt to flee the Taliban takeover and reach safety. It is not clear whether anyone was injured or killed in the moments the video was shot. 

At different points, adults cradle small, crying children and crouch over them in protective stances as rounds of gunfire erupt around them, crackling through the air. One or two gunmen who lowered their weapons appear to have fired them, but that is difficult to determine with certainty in the shaky video. It's also unclear whether they were pointing directly at anyone or aiming just above their heads or at empty spaces within the fleeing crowd.

It’s also unclear who is firing the weapons -- whether they are Taliban, Afghan national forces or others. The video shows people in differing uniforms and with various kinds of weapons. The Kabul airport has been in disarray since the country fell to the Taliban. Concrete barriers ring the airport, as thousands of Americans, Afghan allies and other foreign nationals try to get through the crushing crowds and Taliban checkpoints for hours and hours at a time. People plead with Afghan security forces to examine their travel documents and allow them through; often, those pleas fail.

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