Taliban militants violently disperse rare Afghan protest

By AHMAD SEIR, TAMEEM AKHGAR, KATHY GANNON and JON GAMBRELL

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants attacked protesters Wednesday successful eastbound Afghanistan who dared to instrumentality down their banner and regenerate it with the country’s flag, sidesplitting astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic and fueling fears astir however the insurgents would govern this fractious nation.

While the Taliban person insisted they volition respect quality rights dissimilar during their antecedently draconian rule, the onslaught successful Jalalabad comes arsenic galore Afghans are hiding astatine location oregon trying to fly the state arsenic allegations of abuses by the loosely controlled militant enactment grow. Many person expressed dread that the two-decade Western experimentation to remake Afghanistan volition not past the resurgent Taliban, who took power of the state successful a blitz that took conscionable days.

Taliban leaders talked Wednesday with elder Afghan officials astir a aboriginal government. In a imaginable complication to immoderate effort to stabilize the country, the Central Bank main warned that American sanctions implicit the Taliban’s panic designations threatened Afghanistan’s economy, which already is dangerously debased connected hard overseas currency.

One fig who was not astatine the talks talking spot successful Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled arsenic the Taliban closed successful connected the capital. The United Arab Emirates acknowledged Wednesday that they person taken him and his household in.

In an aboriginal motion of protestation to the Taliban’s rule, dozens gathered successful the eastbound metropolis of Jalalabad and a adjacent marketplace municipality to rise the tricolor nationalist flag, a time earlier Afghanistan’s Independence Day, which commemorates the 1919 pact that ended British rule. They lowered the Taliban emblem — a achromatic banner with an Islamic inscription — that the militants person raised successful the areas they captured.

Video footage aboriginal showed the Taliban firing into the aerial and attacking radical with batons to disperse the crowd. Babrak Amirzada, a newsman for a section quality agency, said the Taliban bushed him and a TV cameraman from different agency.

A section wellness authoritative said the unit killed astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic and wounded six. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity has helium wasn’t authorized to little journalists. The Taliban did not admit the protestation oregon the violence.

It was a uncommon absorption to their rule. In the days since the Taliban seized Kabul connected Sunday, the militants lone faced 1 different protestation by a fewer women successful the capital.

Still, there’s been nary equipped absorption to the Taliban. However, videos from the Panjshir Valley northbound of Kabul, a stronghold of the Northern Alliance militias that allied with the U.S. during the 2001 penetration of Afghanistan, look to amusement imaginable absorption figures gathering there. That country is successful the lone state that hasn’t yet fallen to the Taliban.

Those figures see members of the deposed authorities — Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who asserted connected Twitter that helium is the country’s rightful president and Defense Minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi — arsenic good arsenic Ahmad Massoud, the lad of the slain Northern Alliance person Ahmad Shah Massoud. It remained unclear what they’re adjacent steps would be.

The Taliban, meanwhile, pressed up with their efforts to signifier an “inclusive, Islamic government.” They person been holding talks with erstwhile Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, a elder authoritative successful the ousted government. Mohammad Yusof Saha, a spokesperson for Karzai, said preliminary meetings with Taliban officials would pb to eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the apical Taliban governmental person who conscionable returned to the state from Qatar.

Karzai and Abdullah met Wednesday with Anas Haqqani, a elder person successful a almighty Taliban faction called the Haqqani Network. That network, erstwhile allied to the U.S. during the warfare against the Soviets successful Afghanistan, was blamed for a bid of devastating termination attacks amid the U.S. warfare successful Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network, similar the Taliban astatine large, look U.S. sanctions.

Trying to fly the state by air, hundreds of radical remained extracurricular Kabul’s airdrome connected Wednesday, already the country of deadly chaos. The Taliban demanded to spot documents earlier allowing the uncommon rider inside. Many of the radical extracurricular did not look to person passports, and each clip the gross opened adjacent an inch, dozens tried to propulsion through. The Taliban fired occasional informing shots to disperse them.

Even those who made it wrong the airdrome faced problems, however. Sam Lerman, an Afghan who formerly worked with the U.S. military, said American troops turned him distant adjacent aft the State Department told him to travel for a formation — saying helium needed a greenish card.

“People are going to die,” Lerman warned.

The Taliban person promised to support security, but residents accidental groups of equipped men person been going doorway to doorway inquiring astir Afghans who worked with the Americans oregon the deposed government. It’s unclear if the gunmen are Taliban oregon criminals posing arsenic militants.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates acknowledged that Ghani and his household were successful the Gulf state successful a terse, one-sentence statement.

“The UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his household into the state connected humanitarian grounds,” it said.

Ghani, successful theory, remains the president of Afghanistan though galore successful the state blasted him for the illness of the country’s information forces. The U.S. Embassy successful Abu Dhabi did not respond to questions astir Ghani’s presence.

Ghani besides faced allegations from Russian diplomats of carrying retired millions of dollars erstwhile helium fled.

In a motion of the monetary difficulties immoderate aboriginal Afghan authorities volition face, the caput of Afghanistan’s Central Bank said the country’s proviso of carnal U.S. dollars is “close to zero.” Afghanistan has immoderate $9 cardinal successful reserves, Ajmal Ahmady tweeted, but astir is held extracurricular the country, with immoderate $7 cardinal held successful U.S. Federal Reserve bonds, assets and gold.

Ahmady said the state did not person a planned currency shipment amid the Taliban offensive.

“The adjacent shipment ne'er arrived,” helium wrote. “Seems similar our partners had bully quality arsenic to what was going to happen.”

A U.S. authoritative confirmed that the Treasury Department has frozen the Afghan government’s accounts successful the United States and halted nonstop assistance payments to the government. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium was not authorized to talk to the substance publicly. The Treasury Department did not respond to questions connected the matter.

Ahmady said the deficiency of U.S. dollars volition apt pb to a depreciation of the section currency, the afghani, hurting the country’s poor.

The “Taliban won militarily — but present person to govern,” helium wrote. “It is not easy.”

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Faiez reported from Istanbul, Gannon from Guelph, Canada, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Joseph Krauss successful Jerusalem, Rahim Faiez successful Istanbul, Sylvia Hui successful London and Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee successful Washington contributed.