Anti-taliban rallies spread in afghanistan

Flag-waving protesters have taken to the streets in more Afghan cities as popular opposition to the Taliban spreads, while a witness says several were killed when the militants fired on a

crowd in Asadabad in the east. "Our flag, our identity," a crowd of men and women waving black, red and green national flags shouted in the capital Kabul, a video clip posted on

social media showed on Thursday. Afghanistan celebrates independence from British control in 1919 on August 19. A witness reported gunshots fired near the rally, but they appeared to be

armed Taliban shooting in the air. One woman walked with an Afghan flag wrapped around her shoulders, and those marching chanted "God is greatest". At some protests, media reported

people tearing down the white flag of the Taliban. A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment. The Islamist militant movement conquered Afghanistan in lightning speed as

foreign troops withdrew, surprising even its leaders and leaving them to fill a power vacuum in many places. Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face to

the world, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. In Asadabad, capital of the eastern

province of Kunar, several people were killed during a rally, but it was not clear if the casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede that it triggered, witness Mohammed Salim

said. "Hundreds of people came out on the streets," Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out

the flag I have at home. "Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban." Protests also flared up in the city of Jalalabad and a district of

Paktia province, both also in the east. US President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide whether it wants to be recognised by the international community, in an ABC interview aired on

Thursday. Asked if he thought the Taliban had changed, Biden said, "No." "I think they're going through a sort of existential crisis about: Do they want to be recognised

by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," he said, adding that the group appeared more committed to its beliefs. While Kabul has been

generally calm since Taliban forces entered on Sunday, the airport has been in chaos as people rushed for a way out of the country. Twelve people have been killed in and around the airport

since then, a NATO and a Taliban official said. The deaths were caused either by gunshots or by stampedes, according to the Taliban official. He urged people who do not have the legal right

to travel to go home. "We don't want to hurt anyone at the airport," said the official, who declined to be identified. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was

hoisted over the airport's high perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier standing guard, underlining the desperation many people felt. GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM THEWEST.COM.AU IN YOUR

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