Summary for Friday, 27th August
There are about 12 million Uyghurs in China. Since 2017, they and other Muslim minorities have been subjected to a state campaign of mass detention, surveillance, forced labour, and, according to some accounts, sterilisation, torture and rape.
China denies all human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and says its camps are vocational centres designed to combat extremism.
But many of Afghanistan's Uyghurs fear that if China enters the vacuum left by the US, they could be targeted.
Read more from some of the Uyghur community in Afghanistan here.
"All hell broke loose at the airport circle which is where I was, which is probably about a mile from the explosions across at the Abbey Gate and we had Taliban there firing into the air," Paul Farthing told the BBC.
"One let off a full magazine on automatic from his AK-47 right next to the window of our bus where we had women and children in.
And as we were trying to then flee from the airport we were getting tear-gassed so we were obviously trying to drive the vehicle when we can't see anything. It was just the most horrific thing."
Mr Farthing, who founded the Nowzad animal shelter, has been campaigning to have his staff and their families, as well as 140 dogs and 60 cats, evacuated from Kabul since the collapse of the Afghan government.
Read more about Mr Farthing's experience here
2:15
Australia’s prime minister has just held a press conference where his government condemned the Kabul airport blasts as “evil, calculated and inhumane attacks on the innocent and the brave”.
Scott Morrison in particular expressed sadness for the reported 13 American soldiers who were killed at Abbey Gate – “a gate at which Australian personnel stood just hours before”.
“These brave young Americans stood at that gate to protect life, to save lives but lost their own in providing a pathway to freedom for others,” he said.
He thanked the US and UK forces in control at the airport before confirming that Australia had completed its evacuation efforts and would cease its on-the-ground operations.
Canberra has evacuated more than 4,100 people over the past nine days including citizens and Afghans with Australian visas.
Mr Morrison's government has resisted some calls to offer a 20,000 spot asylum programme like the UK and Canada. On Friday the prime minister re-iterated that future Afghan arrivals would only come into Australia through the UN refugee programme.
People are waking up to a grim morning, hours after deadly bomb blasts at the Kabul airport yesterday.
There was already a growing sense of fear and uncertainty when the US announced it was pulling out of Afghanistan, heightened after the Taliban marched into the capital, Kabul, and took control of the country.
Over the past few days, we saw tens of thousands of people swarming to Kabul airport desperate to leave the country ahead of the 31 August deadline for US forces to leave.
But on Thursday afternoon, two explosions hit the airport - killing more than 60 people. The blasts took place in. crowded area where people were waiting to have their documents processed.
Social media has been filled with posts of grief, while eye-witnesses have spoken of the bloody scenes at the airport.
At least 140 people were also wounded in the attack, which a regional faction of the so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for.
US President Joe Biden says the country will complete its mission to evacuate people - and has also vowed revenge on the attackers.
"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," he said.
The threat from Isis-K, the regional branch of Islamic State, still remains high, said the head of US Central Command.
Here's a recap of Thursday's developments
As we move into Friday in Afghanistan, here's a recap of the main developments over the past 24 hours:- At least 60 people were killed and 140 injured in twin blasts at Kabul airport - an Afghan health official tells the BBC
- Thirteen US military personnel are among those who died, the Pentagon confirms, in what is the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since 2011
- Reacting to the attack, US President Joe Biden tells the perpetrators: "We will hunt you down and make you pay"
- He also vows to finish the US pullout, but admits that "getting everyone out is not guaranteed"
- The president says so far there is no evidence of collusion between the Taliban and the Islamic State, who claimed it was behind the attack
- Western leaders condemn the Kabul attack, as several nations are wrapping up their evacuation operations
Afghanistan's Uyghurs fear the Taliban, and now China too
Like millions of other Afghans, the country's Uyghurs are waking up to a different reality, one in which the Taliban is in charge. But they also fear something else: greater influence for China.There are about 12 million Uyghurs in China. Since 2017, they and other Muslim minorities have been subjected to a state campaign of mass detention, surveillance, forced labour, and, according to some accounts, sterilisation, torture and rape.
China denies all human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and says its camps are vocational centres designed to combat extremism.
But many of Afghanistan's Uyghurs fear that if China enters the vacuum left by the US, they could be targeted.
Read more from some of the Uyghur community in Afghanistan here.
'All hell broke loose'
An ex-Royal Marine who was near to the explosions outside Kabul airport has told how "all hell broke loose" as gunmen fired near his vehicle."All hell broke loose at the airport circle which is where I was, which is probably about a mile from the explosions across at the Abbey Gate and we had Taliban there firing into the air," Paul Farthing told the BBC.
"One let off a full magazine on automatic from his AK-47 right next to the window of our bus where we had women and children in.
And as we were trying to then flee from the airport we were getting tear-gassed so we were obviously trying to drive the vehicle when we can't see anything. It was just the most horrific thing."
Mr Farthing, who founded the Nowzad animal shelter, has been campaigning to have his staff and their families, as well as 140 dogs and 60 cats, evacuated from Kabul since the collapse of the Afghan government.
Read more about Mr Farthing's experience here
2:15
Australia condemns attack, concludes Afghan operation
Australia’s prime minister has just held a press conference where his government condemned the Kabul airport blasts as “evil, calculated and inhumane attacks on the innocent and the brave”.
Scott Morrison in particular expressed sadness for the reported 13 American soldiers who were killed at Abbey Gate – “a gate at which Australian personnel stood just hours before”.
“These brave young Americans stood at that gate to protect life, to save lives but lost their own in providing a pathway to freedom for others,” he said.
He thanked the US and UK forces in control at the airport before confirming that Australia had completed its evacuation efforts and would cease its on-the-ground operations.
Canberra has evacuated more than 4,100 people over the past nine days including citizens and Afghans with Australian visas.
Mr Morrison's government has resisted some calls to offer a 20,000 spot asylum programme like the UK and Canada. On Friday the prime minister re-iterated that future Afghan arrivals would only come into Australia through the UN refugee programme.
Kabul wakes up to more fear and uncertanity
It's now 6am in Afghanistan.People are waking up to a grim morning, hours after deadly bomb blasts at the Kabul airport yesterday.
There was already a growing sense of fear and uncertainty when the US announced it was pulling out of Afghanistan, heightened after the Taliban marched into the capital, Kabul, and took control of the country.
Over the past few days, we saw tens of thousands of people swarming to Kabul airport desperate to leave the country ahead of the 31 August deadline for US forces to leave.
But on Thursday afternoon, two explosions hit the airport - killing more than 60 people. The blasts took place in. crowded area where people were waiting to have their documents processed.
Social media has been filled with posts of grief, while eye-witnesses have spoken of the bloody scenes at the airport.
At least 140 people were also wounded in the attack, which a regional faction of the so-called Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for.
US President Joe Biden says the country will complete its mission to evacuate people - and has also vowed revenge on the attackers.
"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," he said.
The threat from Isis-K, the regional branch of Islamic State, still remains high, said the head of US Central Command.