Afghans celebrate the 102th Independence Day of Afghanistan with waving the national flag in Kabul on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
While the crowd celebrated in protest against the Taliban, at least two people were killed after Taliban opened fire at a crowd celebrating independence day in Asadabad, a Al Jazeera report said.
In Jalalabad, Taliban fighters fired at people waving the Afghan flag during independence day celebrations, injuring a man and a teenage boy.
The protests by people waving the Afghan flag, in some cases after tearing down white Taliban flags according to media, are the first signs of popular opposition to the Taliban since their stunning advance across the country and capture of the capital, Kabul, on Sunday.
While a huge crowd was seen marching in front of the entrance of the Presidential Palace ARG in Kabul Jan, in which a large number of women and youth were participating, chanting slogans in favor of their country and national flag.
In Khost, Taliban fighters are enforcing a curfew to stop protests against them, while people have also come out in the streets of Kabul, defending the republic’s flag.
There were also protests but no reports of serious violence in the eastern city of Jalalabad and a district of Paktia province, media reported.
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who is trying to rally opposition to the Taliban, expressed support for the protests.
"Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation," he said on Twitter.
Saleh said on Tuesday he was in Afghanistan and the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled as the Taliban took Kabul.
