Meet the new Taliban - same as the old Taliban

Taliban fighters reportedly fired into a crowd and beat protesters in cities throughout Afghanistan on Wednesday, just days after the insurgent group took control of the country.

Al Jazeera reported that at least two people were killed and 12 others injured after shots were fired during a protest in Jalalabad.

Dozens of Afghans gathered in the city to raise the national flag before the country’s Independence Day, according to The Associated Press.

As Afghans tried to lower the Taliban flag, which was raised after the insurgent group took over the region, fighters started firing shots in the air and attacking the Afghans with batons in an effort to disperse the crowd, the AP reported, citing video footage.

A television cameraman who tried to document the violence was also reportedly beaten by the insurgent group's fighters.

Fighters with the insurgent group have been patrolling the streets in Kabul, at times coming into contact with hundreds of Afghan protesters, The New York Times noted.

Despite the risks involved with demonstrating, protesters have been whistling, shouting and waving large Afghan flags in the streets, prompting Taliban forces to try to dissolve the crowds by firing shots into the air, according to the Times, which cited video aired by local news media outlets.

When those tactics did not work, however, the fighters reportedly resorted to force.


That violence was also seen at checkpoints in Kabul and near the local airport as the U.S. and other countries were operating evacuation flights from the region, according to The Washington Post.

The Post reported that some Afghans who sought to leave the country on evacuation flights were unable to do so because they came into contact with the Taliban at checkpoints.

The insurgent group's fighters reportedly beat a number of Afghans who tried to cross and intimidated others against fleeing the country, according to the newspaper, which cited other outlets' reports and an eyewitness account.

In another instance, a former interpreter who worked for the Australian army was reportedly shot in the leg by a Taliban fighter, according to SBS News.

The news of violence between the Taliban and Afghans comes just days after the insurgent group seized Kabul and entered the presidential palace in a relatively peaceful manner, effectively toppling the Afghan government and taking control of the country.

There were not many reports of clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces as the insurgent group seized control on Sunday.

“We don’t want Afghanistan to be a battlefield anymore,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the longtime top spokesperson for the Taliban, said during a news conference on Tuesday, according to the Times.

“From today onward, war is over,” he added.

The current developments in the region, however, are putting those statements to the test.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that the Taliban “informed” the U.S. that they “are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment.”

He later said the U.S. has been “working, engaging, coordinating with Taliban elements on the ground to ensure safe passage.

Americans left behind in Afghanistan cling to hope

ARMY TIMES:

Congressional offices and outside advocacy groups are fielding a flood of frantic calls from American citizens and foreign allies desperate to escape from Afghanistan amid unfolding chaos there.

On Sunday, staffers from Sen. Tom Cotton’s office set up a hotline for Americans stranded in Afghanistan who have not yet been able to receive any clear communication from State Department officials or other government resources.

In less than 24 hours, several hundred individuals had contacted the line, including a number of Americans trapped behind Taliban lines.

“The situation is dire, but we’ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out,” Cotton, R-Ark. and an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Staffers said they do not have any special inside information on evacuations or State Department planning, but have been able to consolidate contact information and streamline communications with appropriate officials on the ground.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., offered similar assistance through his office.

For many panicked individuals there, that’s an improvement over the current lack of information.

State Department officials have set up their own hotline at 1-888-407-4747 for domestic calls and 1-202-501-4444 for overseas calls, as well as a Repatriation Assistance Request form for individuals seeking emergency flights out of Afghanistan.

But because of a crush of requests, officials have not been able to respond to every inquiry, leaving many confused as to whether they are awaiting further instructions or caught outside the system.

“Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight,” the department’s official advisory states. “Do not travel to the airport until you have been informed by email that departure options exist.”

Officials from No One Left Behind — which for years has advocated for better policies regarding immigration and assistance for Afghan nationals who helped U.S. military forces — said on Monday that they spent most of the weekend fielding calls from veterans trying to help former interpreters get on one of the last few American flights out of Afghanistan.

“State and [International Organization for Migration] aren’t returning calls,” group officials wrote on social media. “We are working as fast as possible to answer all communications. You are not alone.”

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Russian transport aircraft Il-112V crashes near Moscow, killing all three people on board

RT: 
A prototype of a Russian military transport plane has crashed just outside Moscow, killing all three people on board, media reported on Tuesday. The Ilyushin Il-112V aircraft was undergoing a test flight to the Kubinka air base.

The incident has been reported by the plane’s developer United Aircraft Corporation, which has not confirmed the fatalities so far.

According to a source for TASS, there were three people on board, including Honored Test pilot Nikolay Kuimov, who holds the status of Hero of Russia. Before the plane crashed, the aircraft’s right engine went on fire, causing the Il-112V to tilt to the right side. The aircraft began to lose speed before flipping over and falling to the ground, the news agency reports.

Photos? USAF C-17 saves 800 fleeing from Taliban

 The first (UN VERIFIED) photos are surfacing from inside A USAF C-17 callsign RCH 871 packed bulkhead to bulkhead with Afghans fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. The flight left Kabul last night.  

Posted on Twitter  the authenticity of this photos have not been verified. 

click to enlarge 

metal57 · RCH 871

Kabul in chaos as Taliban move in...

KABUL, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport on Monday after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the U.S. military to suspend evacuations as the United States came under mounting criticism at home over its pullout.

Crowds converged on the airport seeking to escape, including some clinging to a U.S. military transport plane as it taxied on the runway, according to footage posted by a media company.

U.S. troops fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way on to a military flight evacuating U.S diplomats and embassy staff, a U.S. official said.

Five people were reported killed in chaos at the airport on Monday, although a witness said it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede. A U.S. official told Reuters two gunmen had been killed by U.S. forces there over the past 24 hours.

The Taliban's rapid conquest of Kabul follows U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. forces after 20 years of war that cost billions of dollars.

The speed at which Afghan cities fell in just days and fear of a Taliban crackdown on freedom of speech and women's rights gained over 20 years have sparked criticism.

Biden, who said Afghan forces had to fight back against the Islamist Taliban, was due to speak on Afghanistan at 1945 GMT.


Five people were reported killed in chaos at the airport on Monday, although a witness said it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede. A U.S. official told Reuters two gunmen had been killed by U.S. forces there over the past 24 hours.

The Taliban's rapid conquest of Kabul follows U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. forces after 20 years of war that cost billions of dollars.

The speed at which Afghan cities fell in just days and fear of a Taliban crackdown on freedom of speech and women's rights gained over 20 years have sparked criticism.

Biden, who said Afghan forces had to fight back against the Islamist Taliban, was due to speak on Afghanistan at 1945 GMT.

NO ONE SHALL BE HARMED'

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday as the Islamist militants entered Kabul virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.

The United States and other foreign powers have rushed to fly out diplomatic and other staff but the United States temporarily halted all evacuation flights to clear people from the airfield, a U.S. defense official told Reuters.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesperson for the Taliban, said in a message on Twitter that their fighters were under strict orders not to harm anyone.


"Life, property and honour of no one shall be harmed but must be protected by the Mujahideen," he said.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the whole country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

U.S. officers had long worried that corruption would undermine the resolve of badly paid, ill-fed and erratically supplied front-line soldiers.


Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of fighters.

Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV the form of Afghanistan's new government would be made clear soon. He said the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and called for peaceful international relations.

The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women's rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans.

But many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh practices. During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and punishments such as public stoning, whipping and hanging were administered.


"Everyone is worried," a former government employee now in hiding in Kabul said. "They're not targeting people yet but they will, that's the reality. Maybe in two or three weeks, that's why people are fighting to get out now."

Both the United Nations and the United States said last week they had received reports that Taliban fighters were executing surrendering government soldiers.

INEWS: 

Civilians accused foreign governments of “abandoning” Afghanistan on Monday as at least five people were killed scrambling to flee Kabul after the Taliban declared victory in the country.

Videos circulated online showed people falling from the sky as civilians clung to planes in desperate attempts to leave the capital ahead of the anticipated return to a brutal regime.

One video posted by Twitter account AEROSINT Division PSF showed Afghan citizens swarming a US Air Force plane taxiing on the Kabul tarmac. Another showed bodies falling from a plane that had already taken off.

“I can’t believe the world abandoned Afghanistan,” one woman told the ANI news agency upon arrival in New Dehli after fleeing Kabul. 

“Our sons are going to get killed. They’re going to kill us. Our women are not going to have any more rights,” she added.

As tensions escalate, US soldiers shot and killed two people at the airport on Monday after they opened fire on troops stationed there to assist evacuations.

All flights from the airport, which is currently under the control of the US military, were later halted “out of an abundance of caution”. A Pentagon spokesperson said US forces are working with Turkish and other international troops to clear the airport and allow evacuation flights to resume.

Afghan civilians expressed fury at the US focus on evacuating its own citizens, warning that it would leave the local population at the mercy of the insurgents.

There were reports that US troops fired gunshots into the air on Monday morning to disperse surging crowds at the civilian portion of Kabul airport. 

A warning boomed over the airport radio in Pashto: “Please go back, please go back.”

CNN reports that US forces shot and killed two armed men at the airport on Monday, in what is described as an isolated incident. The Pentagon did not clarify whether the men were Taliban militants.

The US embassy issued an alert that the situation at the airport was fast deteriorating, with political commentators comparing the scene to Saigon – when the Viet Cong captured the Vietnamese city in 1975. 

An emergency Nato evacuation operation involving 6,000 US marines and 600 British troops is still underway. 

Smoke rose from the American compound in Afghanistan on Sunday as staff burnt sensitive documents and the US flag was lowered and removed.