Evicted From Their Homes, Thousands Of Afghans Protest Against Taliban Policies In Kandahar

Illustration of the atmosphere in Afghanistan. (Antara/Reuters Stringer/hp/cfo)

JAKARTA - Thousands of Afghans protested against Taliban policies in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, according to a former government official and local television footage, after residents were asked to vacate the army colony's settlements.

Protesters gathered in front of the governor's house in Kandahar, after some 3,000 families were asked to leave the colony, according to former government officials who witnessed the crowd.

Footage from local media showed crowds blocking roads in the city. The affected areas were dominated by families of retired military generals and other members of the Afghan security forces.

"Families, some of whom have lived in the district for nearly 30 years, have been given three days to vacate, said the official, who has spoken with some of those affected.

A Taliban spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the evictions.

Sporadic protests against the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan by seizing Kabul nearly a month ago, have ended in clashes, although no reports of violence were confirmed on Tuesday.

Previously, Taliban leaders had promised to investigate every case of abuse, but had ordered demonstrators to seek permission before holding protests

The United Nations said on Friday that the Taliban's response to peaceful protests was becoming increasingly violent

Last week, the United Nations human rights office said the Taliban's reaction to peaceful protests in Afghanistan had become increasingly violent, with authorities using live ammunition, batons and whips leading to the deaths of at least four protesters.

The protests and demonstrations, often led by women, pose a challenge to the new Taliban government seeking to consolidate control after capturing the capital Kabul nearly a month ago.

"We have seen a reaction from the Taliban which is unfortunately very severe," Ravina Shamdasani, a UN human rights spokeswoman, told a briefing in Geneva, saying the UN had documented four deaths of protesters from gunfire.

However, he said some or all may have resulted from attempts to disperse protesters with gunfire.

He added that the United Nations had also received reports of house-to-house searches for those participating in the protests. Journalists covering the protests have also been intimidated.

"In one case, a journalist was reported to have been told, because his head was kicked, 'You're lucky you weren't beheaded'. There's really a lot of intimidation against journalists who are just trying to do their job," said Shamdasani.