“People are always afraid” – What is life like in some of the towns captured by the Taliban

[ad_1]

Taliban fighters sit in the back of a vehicle in Herat, Afghanistan, August 14, 2021. Hamed Sarfarazi / AP

Over the past week, the Taliban have made significant gains across Afghanistan and now control more than half of the country’s provincial capitals. Cities like Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz are among those now under the control of the Taliban, whose fighters are moving closer and closer to the capital, Kabul.

CNN spoke to Afghans in Herat and Kunduz, where some said the Taliban brought a sense of calm after weeks of fighting, while others expressed fear.

Ismahel is a 40-year-old trader in the city of Herat, the third largest city in Afghanistan and a major urban center in western Afghanistan. He tells CNN that normalcy is returning to the city after the uproar of its fall to the Taliban on Thursday night.

“[The] the whole city is back to normal, people are living normally [and] the shops are all open, ”Ismahel says, adding that he has seen women dressed in burqas resume their daily lives as well.

He recalled a friend who visited his store on Thursday, warning of Taliban encroachment and suggesting they flee the city.

“We closed the shops and returned home. Afterwards, we saw that the city fell into the hands of the Taliban,” he said. “Today is the first day, so the students weren’t going to school, but government workers were going to their offices.”

He added that some people were happy that the fighting and “the noise of bullets” had ceased after a month.

“We feel good after the end of the war,” he said.

But the people of Herat also likely live in fear, and many would hesitate to voice criticism of the Taliban at the start of their control.

In Kunduz, the first town to be taken, Atiqullah, a 31-year-old resident, says people are adjusting to the power transition but remain fearful.

“People are still afraid, even though the Taliban told us not to be afraid,” Atiqullah told CNN.

He adds that some women come out and have been told to wear the burqa, while teachers have been ordered to return to school, although the Taliban have said only teachers should educate boys and that the teachers would supervise the girls.

[ad_2]

Source Link