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Video Editor: Ashutosh Bhardwaj
Several people were killed in firing by Taliban fighters at crowds waving the Afghan national flag at an Independence Day rally in Afghanistan’s Asadabad, reported Guardian, citing a witness.
Meanwhile, a witness was also quoted as saying that it was not clear if the casualties resulted directly from the Taliban firing or from a stampede that the firing triggered.
As per Reuters, the rally came as popular opposition to the Taliban spread, with a hundreds of men and women waving black, red and green national flags in Kabul, as well, as they shouted: "Our flag, our identity.”
MORE DETAILS
As per Guardian, Taliban fighters surrounded some of protesters, shouting and firing rounds into the air to disperse them.
Guardian too reported that the Asadabad demonstrations were among the first signs of popular opposition to the Taliban since the capture of Kabul on Sunday.
Previously, on Wednesday, 18 August, Taliban members fired at a crowd protesting in Jalalabad, leading to the death of at least three people.
The Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh has tweeted:
“Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation."
PROTEST AT KABUL
A video of Kabul doing the rounds of the internet showed a crowd waving Afghanistan national flags and shouting: ”Our flag, our identity.”
Reuters further reported the protesters shouting: ”God is greatest".
Visuals emerging from Kabul also showed Afghans erecting a national flag in Abdul Haq square in Kabul. However, subsequently, the Taliban is reported to have replaced the black, red, and green national flag with their own white flag.
A witness, as per Reuters, also reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air.
Meanwhile, Taliban reportedly called on the country's imams to urge unity at Friday prayers.
MEANWHILE, AT THE KABUL AIRPORT
At the same time, the Kabul airport continues to bear witness to acute despair, with swarms of Afghans attempting to escape the Taliban rule, but reportedly being held back by Taliban and locked gates.
Visuals have also emerged of babies being passed to the front of the crowds and handed over to American soldier by parents seeking to at least get their children out of Afghanistan.
BACKGROUND
Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on Sunday, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the war-torn country.
Video footage of Taliban commanders and armed militants moving within the walls of the presidential palace was broadcast by international media organisations on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, swarms of people attempted to escape the impending Taliban rule, as is apparent from the visuals of panic, fear and chaos that emerged from the crowded airport of Kabul.
(With inputs from Guardian and Reuters)
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