Thousands of Afghans are turning to land routes to flee the country as the Taliban maintain control of the Kabul airport after the United States completed its troop withdrawal on Monday. Crowds turned to Afghanistan’s borders on Wednesday as the Taliban focused on keeping banks, hospitals and government offices running, Reuters reported. Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, and effectively Afghanistan, on August 15, the Hamid Karzai International Airport has seen heavy rush of Afghans desperate to make it out of country. Over 110 people were killed amid the chaos caused by stampedes, firings, and attacks by the Islamic State in and around the facility.

While the Taliban have announced a general amnesty under their rule, Afghans fearful of reprisals are scrambling for safe passage across the land-locked nation’s borders with Iran, Pakistan and central Asian states.

At Torkham, a major border crossing with Pakistan just east of the Khyber Pass, a Pakistani official told Reuters that a “large number of people are waiting on the Afghanistan side for the opening of the gate.”

Thousands had also gathered at the Islam Qala post along the Iran border, the news agency quoted witnesses as saying.

“I felt that being among Iranian security forces brought some kind of relaxation for Afghans as they entered Iran, compared with the past,” said one Afghan among a group of eight that crossed over.

Uzbekistan, whose land border with northern Afghanistan remained closed, has assured to assist Afghans in transit to Germany by air with the resumption of flights.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Monday, urging the Taliban to permit safe passage for those seeking to leave. The resolution did not mention the creation of a safe zone, a demand put forth by France and others.

The US-led airlift that followed the Taliban takeover evacuated more than 123,000 people from Kabul, but left behind thousands of Afghans seeking an exit from the country.

Germany has put between 10,000 and 40,000 the number of Afghan staff still working for development organisations in Afghanistan who have a right to be evacuated to the European nation if they feel endangered.

The Taliban’s talks with Qatar and Turkey on how to run Kabul airport could take days or weeks to bear any results, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.