Kabul: The Taliban are trying to prevent Afghan people from flying the flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as the country celebrates its Independence Day on Thursday, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
While the Taliban are eager to switch the national flag to the one the movement has been using, most people in the country wish to keep the one used by the recently toppled government.
In the capital of Kabul, streets and squares are filled with people, some of them carrying the national flag. Despite Taliban militants opening fire to disperse crowds, some of the residents of the capital tell Sputnik that they are determined to continue making their presence felt come what may. One of them, named Hamid, said that he would not stop feeling joy even if he was killed under the old flag, adding that the Taliban would not be able to stop people from celebrating.
A similar situation was replicated in other parts of the country. In the eastern Nangarhar province people rallied around the national flag, provoking a shooting that resulted in casualties.
In the northeastern province of Kunar, three people died after the Taliban opened fire on a car with the flag. In some areas, the militants also confiscate cameras from journalists, according to sources.
On August 15, Afghanistan saw the Taliban completing a large-scale offensive by seizing the capital of Kabul, which led to the collapse of the US-backed civilian government.
The Afghan independence day commemorates the 1919 Treaty of Rawalpindi, which marked the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War with the United Kingdom recognizing Afghanistan's independence. (UNI)
