Taliban gunmen opened fire on a crowd of protesters and beat and detained reporters who were covering the event Wednesday in the city of Jalalabad, according to reports.
Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based network that has shared video this week covering the violent takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban fighters, reported that citizens in the eastern Afghan city had gathered to protest as the Taliban took down an Afghan national flag and replaced it with a banner for the group.
The demonstration turned deadly when the Taliban opened fire, Al Jazeera reported. At least 12 people were shot as they opposed the hostile takeover of their city and country. Three were reported dead as of Wednesday morning.
āA public display of dissent in the northeastern city of Jalalabad was met by force,ā The New York Times reported. āTaliban soldiers fired into the crowd and beat protesters and journalists.ā
Numerous videos posted on Twitter purport to show the event, which appeared generally orderly and peaceful.
WARNING: some viewers will find the following videos disturbing.
In one video, however, gunfire could be heard as protesters fled.
Al Jazeera reported that a āa fairly sizable partā of those living in Jalalabad oppose the Taliban raising their banner and removing the Afghan national flag.
āWe have seen uploaded on social media, protests in the streets of hundreds if not thousands of people waving the national flag,ā the news outletās Rob McBride told other reporters. āWe know that they have put the flag back up again in an important square in Jalalabad and that there have been clashes with the Talibanā¦ā
Pajhwok Afghan News appeared to confirm the validity of the videos that were going viral Wednesday online.
The videos are among others that have circulated online this week since the countryās security forces collapsed ā leading to the fall of the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.
The U.S. military has been evacuating American citizens and some Afghans from the Kabul airport throughout this week as the city and country are now run by the Taliban.
Do you think the Afghan people will resist the Taliban?
YesNo
Completing this poll entitles you to our news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 100% (1 Votes)
šŗ Embedded media ā coming soon
President Joe Biden spoke briefly on the calamity in Afghanistan on Monday. He took no questions from reporters afterward and headed back to vacation at Camp David in Maryland.
Tuesday, the U.S. government warned thousands of Americans still in Afghanistan that it cannot guarantee they can escape the country safely.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.