At least three people are believed to have died after Taliban gunmen opened fire to break up a protest in Jalalabad on Wednesday, where scores of people had to the streets in a rare show of dissent against the militant group’s takeover of Afghanistan, raising Afghan national flags.
Dozens of protesters in the eastern city had taken to the streets to protest the way the Taliban has taken the country by force and to defend the national flag, which the group’s fighters removed from the presidential palace after it was vacated by fleeing President Ashraf Ghani.
Read Also: I Spent Eight Years In Guantanamo Bay – Triumphant Taliban Commander Reveals In Speech Livestreamed From Presidential Palace In Kabul
Local resident Salim Ahmad told the Associated Press that Taliban members had fired into the air to disperse the crowd, but a witness saidat least three people died in the shooting and ensuing chaos. Al Jazeera reported that around a dozen others were injured.
Since they started to make sweeping territorial gains across the country last month, the Taliban have been replacing the Afghan national flag with their own banner, a white background with an Islamic inscription in black.
Read Also: Taliban Claims Afghanistan Victory As Fighters Enter Presidential Palace In Kabul
Photo Credit: Getty
