Taliban urge Afghan unity as protests spread to Kabul
- Protests in Kabul and eastern cities, several killed
- Anti-Taliban opposition leader supports protests
- U.S. says 6,000 more people set to board planes in Kabul
The Taliban called on Afghanistan’s imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.
Several people were killed when Taliban militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air.
On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags.
“Our flag, our identity,” they shouted.
At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the Taliban’s white flag.
A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing.
Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said.
The U.S. military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while U.S. fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens.
