Taliban gun down protesters
Afghans killed during a rally; some deaths feared in stampede
Kabul, Aug. 19: Flagwaving protesters took to several Afghan cities on Thursday and several people were killed when Taliban fighters fired on a crowd, a witness said, in the first popular opposition to the militants since they seized the capital.
“Our flag our identity,” a crowd of men and some women waving black, red and green national flags shouted in Kabul, a video clip posted on social media showed. One woman walked with a flag wrapped around her shoulders. Afghanistan celebrates its 1919 independence from British control on Aug. 19.
A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
In Asadabad, capital of Kunar province, several people were killed during a rally but it was not clear if the casualties resulted from the firing or from a stampede that it triggered, witness Mohammed Salim said.
“Hundreds of people came out on the streets,” Salim said. “At first I was scared and didn’t want to go but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in I took out the flag I have at home.”
“Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban.”
Protesters also took to the streets of the eastern city of Jalalabad and a district of Paktia province. On Wednesday, Taliban fighters fired at protesters waving in flag Jalalabad, killing three, witnesses and media reported.
In some places, protesters tore down white Taliban flags, according to media. Media reported similar scenes in Asadabad and another eastern city, Khost, on Wednesday.
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