Taliban disperse new protests in Kabul and continues to prepare the government | international | News

Pending the formation of a new government, a demonstration of hundreds of people in Kabul on Tuesday was dispersed by gunfire in the air by the Taliban, whose leaders once again promised they would allow the evacuation of vulnerable Afghans.

Despite the reassuring words of Afghanistan’s new owners, who have vowed to be more inclusive and tolerant, many in the capital fear a return to the strict regime imposed by the radical Islamist movement between 1996 and 2001.

In a display of this refusal, hundreds of protesters marched in various protests across Kabul, something unimaginable in the former Taliban state, when public executions were carried out and the hands of thieves were cut off.

Afghan women want their country to be liberated. They want to rebuild their country. “We are tired,” Sarah Fahim told AFP at a protest outside the Pakistani embassy, ​​which is very close to the Taliban.

We want our people to live a normal life. How long do we have to live in this situation? asked this 25-year-old woman.

About 70 people, mostly women, raised banners and chanted slogans against the neighboring country, which has often been accused of harboring the Islamist movement after the 2001 US-led invasion.

The Taliban fighters at the site quickly dispersed them by firing their weapons into the air, reporters from the France Press agency.

Although small and isolated, some Afghans, mostly women, have demonstrated in cities such as Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif after the country fell to the Taliban three weeks ago.

Taking advantage of the withdrawal of foreign forces, they launched a blazing attack that surprised the Western powers and, according to some Islamic analysts themselves, who were not ready to take over the reins of a state within a serious economic and humanitarian framework. calamity.

The announcement of the new government was expected between Friday and Saturday, but the movement’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, on Monday, indicated that it will remain a few days late for “technical reasons.”

This spokesman also claimed that his forces ended the last axis of resistance to his authority and captured the mountainous valley of Panjshir, where the anti-Taliban militias and remnants of the Afghan army were concentrated.

The so-called National Resistance Front responded that it still occupies “strategic positions” in the area and its leader, Ahmed Masoud, called for a population uprising.

Blinken and Kathar

The Taliban’s rapid advance also surprised the Western powers, who, around the clock, carried out a massive evacuation of foreigners and vulnerable Afghans from the Kabul airport.

The withdrawal of US forces on August 30 halted this process before all persons eligible to participate in the march were removed.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, on a visit to Qatar, the first by a senior US official to the region since the fall of Kabul, confirmed that the new authorities in Kabul once again promised to release all those who wished to do so.

Blinken said Taliban officials told each other “that they will allow those with the necessary documents to travel freely.”

“The international community hopes that the Taliban will honor this commitment,” the head of diplomacy, accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, added.

For its part, Qatar reiterated that Kabul Airport, which has been closed since the last US soldier left the country at the end of August, will reopen soon, although it did not mention any specific date.

This infrastructure is necessary to get humanitarian aid into the country, but also to reactivate the evacuation of vulnerable Afghans if the Taliban allow it. (I)