VIDEO Tensions in Afghanistan escalate: Taliban shot at crowd of protesters, victims are also reported – Topky

Al Jazeera television reported that at least two people had died and 12 others were injured on the spot. CNN did not immediately confirm the reports of the victims. According to CNN, the Taliban did not comment immediately on the incident.

NEW – Taliban militants open fire at protesters waving the national flag in #Jalalabad, the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. 2 dead, at least 10 injured so far.pic.twitter.com/5g8uzSJH0b

– Disclose.tv ? (@disclosetv) August 18, 2021

Images posted on social media show people trying to climb to the top of the monument in the square with the Afghan flag. Another video shows people waving an Afghan flag in the busy streets of Jalalabad. The Islamists are trying to disperse the protesters by shooting. The protest was led by young people, but all age groups took part in it, writes CNN.

2 dead, 10 injured as a result of Taliban gunfire towards the demonstrators in #Jalalabad ??? pic.twitter.com/yTeXGZ03mf

– Afghan Hindu (@HinduAfghan) August 18, 2021

The Taliban also blew up a statue of a former Shiite militia leader

Members of the Taliban militant movement blew up a statue of Shiite militia leader Abdal Ali Mazari in the Afghan city of Bamyan, who fought against them in a civil war in the 1990s. The AP agency informed about it on Wednesday, referring to photos on social networks.

The Taliban assassinated Mazari in 1995, a year before taking power from military commanders in Afghanistan. Mazari belonged to the Hazar ethnic group, Shiites who were persecuted during the previous Taliban regime – fundamentalist Sunnis – in 1996-2001. Mazari was declared a martyr in 2016.

“We’re not sure who blew up (Mazari) the statue, but there are various Taliban groups here, including those … known for their brutality.” AFP quoted one local resident who did not want to be named. Another resident said a group of Taliban fighters used a hand-held anti-tank grenade on Tuesday to destroy the statue. She added that people are unhappy and scared of it.

The Taliban reported in 1995 that Mazari had been killed in a shootout aboard a helicopter that was taking him and other prisoners to Kandahar, the former de facto capital of the Taliban-controlled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. A Taliban spokesman said at the time that Mazari had killed six Taliban fighters with a Kalashnikov rifle he had taken from the guard before he lost his life.

Source: Twitter / Ezzatullah Mehrdad

In 2001, the Taliban blew up two huge 1,500-year-old statues of the standing Buddha carved into the rock in Bamiyan Province, which they say violated the Islamic ban on idolatry. The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan last weekend, 20 years after its government was overthrown by the United States following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

17 people were injured in a crowd at Kabul Airport

At least 17 people were injured on Wednesday during a crowd at the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul. Reuters reported, referring to a NATO security official.

Many Western countries are currently trying to evacuate their citizens as well as embassy staff from Kabul. One airport employee said Afghan civilians who wanted to leave the country had long been told not to gather at the airport without a passport or travel visa.

The Taliban militant movement is reportedly negotiating rewards for Afghans who have worked with countries involved in NATO’s military mission in Afghanistan in the past and are currently trying to evacuate them. The journalist of the German daily Bild Julian Röpcke stated this in his Twitter account.

“We have received confirmation from several sources that the Taliban are negotiating rewards for each Afghan who has worked for (Operation) Resolute Support in individual NATO countries and is to be evacuated. No one will be able to leave Kabul Airport before the price is set.” said the journalist on the social network. He added that this “the price” it can also be political, depending on sources. The Taliban officially justify this move by saying that it wants to “prevent brain drain from the country”.