As Commercial Flights Resume From Kabul, Departing Afghans Emotionally Conflicted

Thousands of people remained grounded in Afghanistan for weeks after the evacuation operation ended, among them Afghans with dual citizenship unable to get back home.

Around 150 passengers, mostly Afghans with dual citizenships, departed Kabul on a Qatar Airways flight Friday evening in a tense and emotional return to their home countries following the Taliban's rapid takeover of the capital last month. The flight was just the second commercial flight to resume from Kabul's international airport. It had previously been closed to commercial flights since last month's messy evacuation of tens of thousands of people fearful of life under Taliban rule after the last U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan, causing panic and chaos. Thousands of people remained grounded in Afghanistan for weeks after the evacuation operation ended, among them Afghans with dual citizenship unable to get back home. The mood at the departure gate of Kabul's airport was tense. Members of the Qatari army guarded the perimeter of the Kabul airport's bullet-strewn tarmac as passengers boarded the flight.