Afghanistan celebrates their country’s 102nd Independence Day with the national flag in Kabul. (Photo by Getty Images by Vocal Kohsar / AFP)
A mob of Afghans in Kabul marched through the streets with the Afghan national flag to celebrate the country’s independence from British colonial rule in 1919, defying the Taliban.
The Taliban want to replace the black, red and green Afghan national flag with their own black and white flag.
Witness accounts and videos widely shared on social media on Thursday show people marching through the capital with the national flag. In some cases, people replaced the Taliban’s black and white flag with the Afghan tricolor.
Protesters in Kabul chanted “Long live Afghanistan” in front of Taliban militants. Another witness told CNN that the Taliban fired into the air to break up the procession. It is not known if anyone was injured.
In the eastern city of Jalalabad, the country’s fifth-largest city, another witness told CNN that protesters had taken to the streets for the second day in a row. According to the witness, they received a violent response from the Taliban.
The witness also said that Taliban militants opened fire on the crowd.
A video sent to CNN from Jalalabad showed protesters wounded in the shooting. The video shows protesters being carried in cars under the Afghan national flag.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.
Sound sirens after Taliban patrols and marches in Kabul
A CNN team has found that large Taliban groups have taken to the streets of Kabul following a rally of people marking Independence Day with the country’s national flag through the Afghan capital.
Security of armed militants on a street in Afghanistan. (Photo: AREF KARIMI / AFP via Getty Images)
Vehicles with two or three trucks, at least 6 Taliban fighters, sound the siren in different parts of the city.
Scattered scenes were also heard at a more intense pace than the previous days.
Earlier on Thursday, CNN reported that the Taliban were seen marching through the streets of Kabul with the Afghan national flag, using different flags.