Posted on August 15, 2023 at 9:04 PM. Modified on August 15, 2023 at 10:34 PM.
Opposite the United States Embassy, Place Massoud is gradually filling up with the uninterrupted flow of horns and cries of joy. A few hundred Taliban transported in pick-ups, ambulances and police cars invade the scene, heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and M4s. They revolve around the central column, erected in honor of Ahmad Shah Massoud, charismatic mujahid who fought against Soviet troops, and later the Taliban, assassinated on September 9, 2001. The fortified walls of the embassy were covered with a gigantic painted Taliban flag, which can be found in miniature in the hands of all those present. Some scooters are adorned with the only known photo of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader. The flashes crackle.
For this second anniversary of the capture of Kabul, broad proud smiles are de rigueur. Everyone poses happily, in groups, with sometimes customized weapons. A notable fact: dozens of children, often very young, and teenagers take part in the celebration, dressed in white headbands in the colors of the movement, red in reference to the martyrs, under the amused gaze of their fathers. There is not a single woman on the horizon, only a few passers-by who hurry as they cross the square.
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2023-08-15 19:04:53
#joy #Taliban #years #power #Afghanistan #Temps
