@boogiewithasuitcase: Yes, reports would sugggest that the Taliban were waiting around and when the power went off (about 20 minutes after the Americans left), they knew they could help themselves. The "looters" in the article I've read thus far would appear to be The Taliban. The equipment they using and driving around in certainly indicates they stole whatever they could get their mitts on.
It turns out that Embassy staff arrived to work and experienced similar: doors locked, and when they emailed colleagues to check what was going on, the emails bounced. Completely shafted. So many of those poor souls at the Airport have ID and invitations to present for flights, yet the invitation is just to join that awful crowd. Bilal Sawary (I think ) has a video clip of a young woman n his twitter feed: the Americans directed her to present at the airport, so she is (or was) in that crowd, trying to get through. As are so many others.
@Soubriquet and others. I see shit like that, too. Worse, when I'm out walking, some of the people whose conversations I overhear (because they talk at the top of their bloody voices) are expressing some vile and incredibly unkind views. "Make them stay and fight." and that sort of nonsense. "We don't want more of these bloody forriners... they could be terrorists". (People fleeing terrorists are suspected of being terrorists? How does that work, except for the truly ignorant?) I'm not sure how ordinary people are supposed to fight extremists with guns.
My dad grew up with refugees from the Kinder transports and others, so I knew lots of them when I was a little girl. They faced the same nastiness and xenophobia that refugees tend to face now. I remember reading Judith Kerr's biography, and dad's friends told me about their experiences. I just wan tto help, so am off to find ways.