the taliban on Wednesday repressed hundreds of Afghans who demonstrated in favor of maintaining the Afghan tricolor flag, instead of replacing it with the white flag bearing the Islamic declaration of faith and representing the insurgents and their Islamic emirate.
The protests took place this morning in the streets of Jalalabad, capital of Nangahar province, one of the last cities to fall into Taliban hands.
“Protests in the city of Jalalabad in support of the national flag. The Taliban fired at protesters and hit some photojournalists,” he told Afghan news agency Pajhwok.
Videos of the repression in Afghanistan
As seen in several videos circulated on social networks, the protesters who marched peacefully holding flags they were dispersed with shots supposedly coming from the Taliban, causing chaos and injury.
The dispute for the flag of Afghanistan
Following the capture of Kabul on Sunday by the Taliban, following a rapid offensive that in just over a week saw them conquer 33 of 34 Afghan provincial capitals, including Jalalabad, Many Afghans were surprised that the insurgents initially kept the Afghan tricolor flag flying.
The gesture of the Afghan tricolor waving in Kabul was important to Afghans, after Across much of the country, the Taliban will hoist the white flag with the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.
“The flag has been the symbol of identity for Afghans for the past two decades, I hope the Taliban doesn’t change it and lower this flag, millions of Afghans love it dearly,” a Kabul citizen told EFE.
Although, the Taliban’s white flag appeared yesterday at the first public press conference of the insurgents’ main spokesman, Zabihulla Mujahid.
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