October 14, 2001	Sunday	Rajab 26, 1422

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KABUL, Oct 13: Hundreds of worried families were seen leaving the Afghan capital on Saturday in the face of relentless airstrikes by the United States.

The beleaguered Afghan capital was seeing a virtual exodus of those who could afford to leave, said Najibullah, who, along with his family, was loading his belongings on to a vehicle, to leave.

“ Everybody thought the strikes would be brief and only military targets would be hit. But what we are seeing now is that more and more civilians are being killed everyday,” he explained.”

Most of the people are now thinking of leaving the city. Only those who cannot afford to leave, will be staying behind,” he added.

Most of the people said they were going to rural areas or towards Pakistan. The UNHCR said it expected over one million people to head for neighbouring countries in the wake of continuing airstrikes. Pakistan, which already hosts 2.5 million displaced Afghans, has allowed the setting up of new refugee camps along its borders with Afghanistan.

This correspondent saw that Taliban soldiers, with artillery, had taken positions alongside the Jalalabad-Kabul road.

Ambulances of Al-Rashid Trust were also seen parked on the Afghan side of the border, ready to take wounded people to Pakistan for treatment.