KABUL: Several people have been killed in a shootout during an Independence Day rally in the Afghan city of Asadabad.
According to the foreign news agency, eyewitnesses have claimed that the Taliban fired when the Afghan national flag was hoisted. Several people were killed in the firing and stampede.
Protesters were reportedly waving white flags and waving national flags, which led to the shooting or due to firing. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of people took to the streets against the Taliban. People are scared but they are leaving their homes after seeing each other.
It should be noted that the Taliban has not yet made any statement about the incident. Local media also reported anti-Taliban protests in Dzhalal-Abad and Paktia, but no shootings took place there.
Read more: Deportations from Afghanistan gather momentum as Taliban promise peace
It is to be noted that Afghanistan celebrates independence from British control on August 19 every year, but under the guise of this celebration, people also staged anti-Taliban protests, while incidents of tearing down flags by the Taliban are also coming to light.
Afghanistan’s first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, has declared himself caretaker president after Ashraf Ghani’s escape. He has also supported the national flag bearers. On Wednesday, Taliban fighters fired at protesters waving the black, red and green national flag in Jalalabad, killing three, witnesses and media reported.
Media reported similar scenes in Asadabad and another eastern city, Khost, on Wednesday with protesters in some places tearing down the white Islamic banner of the Taliban. The crackdown on protests will raise new doubts about Taliban assurances they have changed since their 1996-2001 rule when they severely restricted women, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues.
