evidence: The official shared with TIME a cell phone video he got from a friend trying to get out at the airport, of panicked Afghans rushing to board an empty aircraft, not waiting for permission, standing in the aisles and refusing to give up their seats to the ticketed passengers. With reports of gunshots and militants on the civilian side of the airport, the senior Afghan officials are torn. "We don’t know if it’s a wise decision to sit in the airport, but they fear for their lives if they go back to the city," the official says.