On Thursday, Afghanistan’s Hazara minority, most of whom are Shiite Muslims, observed Ashura, in which Shiites commemorate the death of Imam Hussain, grandson of the prophet Muhammad.
Ashura events in Kabul have been attacked by suicide bombers several times in recent years, with some of the bombings claimed by the Islamic State, which considers Hazaras heretics. Hazaras have been attacked and persecuted in Afghanistan for generations.
The Taliban sent representatives to events, and there were no immediate reports of violence, Agence France-Presse reported.
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
In addition to Afghanistan’s annual Independence Day holiday, Ashura on Thursday was Afghanistan’s first major public observance since the Taliban seized power. It was regarded as a test of Taliban promises to protect civilians and refrain from revenge killings. The Taliban, most of whom are Sunni Muslims, have persecuted and massacred Hazaras in the past.
Photographs by The New York Times. Text by David Zucchino.
In a remarkable display of defiance, Afghans took to the streets Thursday for a second day to protest the Taliban takeover of the country, flying Afghanistan’s national flag during the country’s annual Independence Day celebrations.
Taliban gunmen violently broke up a raucous protest by about 200 demonstrators near the presidential palace in Kabul, but protests also broke out in other cities. Several protesters waving national flags were reported killed in the eastern city of Asadabad when Taliban gunmen opened fire and caused a stampede, Reuters reported.
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
With the Taliban takeover, Independence Day has taken on a renewed significance, seized on by protesters as a symbol of their defiance against Taliban rule.
“Long live Afghanistan,” protesters can be heard shouting.
Photographs by The New York Times. Video by Jordan Bryon for The New York Times. Text by David Zucchino.
As Taliban fighters poured into the undefended capital on Sunday, scenes of panic and chaos unfolded in Kabul. The American-backed government collapsed as ministers abandoned their offices and as soldiers and police officers peeled off their uniforms to blend in with civilians.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country with a small team of advisers, leaving Afghans who had served the government — or the 20-year American military and diplomatic effort — to fend for themselves. The U.S. mission to Afghanistan came to a sudden and shocking end, two decades after American forces toppled the Taliban-led government following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Taliban commanders and fighters barged into the vacated presidential palace, posing for photographers and delivering an impromptu news conference. One commander sat at Mr. Ghani’s ornate wooden desk. The head of the Presidential Protection Service, which had guarded the palace for most of the last two decades, shook hands with a Taliban commander and announced the handover of power.
Meanwhile, thousands of terrified Afghans swarmed the international airport, desperate to board a flight — any flight — out of the country. Some young men clung to the underside of an American military transport plane as it taxied down the runway, and others ran alongside and in front of the departing flight.
Many Afghan men broke into tears as they begged airport officials to put their families aboard planes, even as most civilian flights were canceled in favor of military evacuations. Other Afghans tried to fight their way to the military side of the airport, past Taliban gunmen who fired into the air and beat people with rifle butts, clubs and whips.
transcript
transcript
Gunfire in the Streets: Protests Met by Force in Afghanistan
The Taliban faced off against protestors in the northeastern city of Jalalabad. Taliban soldiers fired shots into the crowd and beat protesters and journalists.
[gunfire] [gunfire]
On Wednesday, protests against the Taliban’s newly declared Islamic Emirate broke out in the eastern city of Jalalabad, as well as in the southeastern city of Khost. In Jalalabad, Taliban fighters shot at protesters, killing at least two, according to Afghan media reports. Some protesters raised Afghanistan government flags, which had been ripped down by the Taliban and were replaced with the white and black Taliban flag.
Photographs by The New York Times. Text by David Zucchino.