Reports that Taliban fighters have beaten women and children at a checkpoint in Kabul emerged on Wednesday as the group attempted to consolidate its control after a rapid takeover of the the country.
The Taliban’s assurance of a “safe passage” to the Kabul airport, where thousands have thronged in a desperate bid to be taken out of the country, has been undermined by a report and photographs by a Los Angeles Times reporter.
In one of the graphic images, a woman and child are seen with blood on their faces and apparently unconscious.
As they consolidated power, the Taliban said one of their leaders and co-founders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, had returned to Afghanistan for the first time in more than 10 years. A Taliban official said leaders would show themselves to the world, unlike in the past when they lived in secret.
Hundreds of people were outside the airport on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. It said the Taliban demanded to see documents before allowing the rare passenger inside. The Taliban fired occasional warning shots to disperse them, the agency said.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported the militants were checking documents and forcibly turning some people around at checkpoints, refusing to let them reach the airport. NBC News was not able to independently verify these reports.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said they have received reports of people being turned away, pushed back or even beaten when trying to access the airport.
“We are taking that up in a channel with the Taliban to try to resolve those issues,” Sullivan said. “And we are concerned about whether that will continue to unfold in the coming days.”
Separately, unverified photos circulating on social media Wednesday also showed the statue of a Shiite militia leader killed by the Taliban in 1996 blown up in the central Bamyan province. NBC News has not independently verified when the incident purportedly happened or that the statue was destroyed by the Taliban.
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These reports contrast with a new, more modern image that the Taliban have tried to paint in their first press conference since their takeover of Kabul Tuesday night. Their officials deny their fighters have been involved in this sort of violence, blaming the injuries on men impersonating the Taliban.
Promising to not infringe on women’s rights, welcome free press and not hold any “grudges” against past enemies, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid vowed the group wanted peaceful relations with other countries.
“When it comes to experience, maturity, vision, there is a huge difference between us in comparison to 20 years ago,” Mujahid said, striking a conciliatory tone.
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His words have left many in Afghanistan and abroad skeptical. Many fear that the Taliban’s strict and austere interpretation of Islam will make a comeback, 20 years after the U.S. toppled the regime after it sheltered Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, triggering the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and America’s longest war.
As the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday, hundreds of Afghans rushed the tarmac of the Kabul airport, trying to board flights to escape as the U.S. and other allies evacuated their citizens and diplomatic staff. Striking videos shared online showed desperate Afghans trying to cling to airplanes.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy has been operating out of the airport, coordinating further evacuations. As many as 15,000 Americans remain in Afghanistan, Biden administration officials told Senate staffers Tuesday. Other nations are also scrambling to get their citizens out of the country. Dutch foreign minister Sigrid Kaag said Tuesday their evacuation efforts were unsuccessful because of the chaos outside the airport made it impossible to get eligible people on a plane, Reuters reported.
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With Taliban’s return to power comes the huge task of controlling and running daily life in the capital.
A Taliban commander has admitted to NBC News that their takeover of the country happened very quickly — “beyond their imagination” — leaving them at a loss at how to govern.
“We were mentally not prepared for capturing such a big city of over six million people as it has a lot of issues to deal with,” a Taliban commander in Kabul told NBC News.
Meanwhile, the head of Afghanistan’s central bank warned the country’s supply of physical U.S. dollars was low. Ajmal Ahmady tweeted that the lack of U.S. dollars will likely lead to a depreciation of the local currency, the afghani, hurting the country’s poor. Afghans have been lining up outside ATM machines for days, with many pulling out their life savings.
Ahmady said the Taliban will struggle to access the country’s reserves because of international sanctions. The “Taliban won militarily — but now have to govern,” Ahmady wrote.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
