The Taliban began going to house-to-house in Kabul and other Afghan cities Friday claiming to be in search of weapons and criminals after a recent increase in robberies and kidnappings.
QUICK FACTS:
- The widespread search operation has spread panic throughout the region, with many fearing for what may happen to them because of their ties to U.S. foreign forces.
- Residents in Kabul posted videos showing the Taliban having trashed their homes during the raids, barging in without permission.
- “It was just my nephew at home when they came and they made a big mess,” one resident told Aljazeera.
- The Taliban has also increased patrol across the capital city, creating roadblocks to set up checkpoints and search vehicles.
TALIBAN SPOKESPERSON ON ENDING EVACUATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN:
“Initially we had said that the Americans… could take people that they thought had any concerns about…But this is not a continuous promise.”
BACKGROUND:
- Chief Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also said that families wanting to leave Afghanistan will now have to provide “legitimate reasons,” claiming the Taliban has not promised anyone that the evacuation process would be indefinite.
- “It is the government’s responsibility to protect its people so this [evacuations] will be stopped until we get the assurance that their lives will not be endangered,” Mujahid said.
- More than 120,000 Afghans have been evacuated out of the country since the last U.S. troops withdrew in August 2021, with an unspecified number still in Afghanistan and actively trying to escape for safety reasons.
