The Taliban called for unity ahead of Friday prayers, asking imams to persuade people not to leave. Residents in Kabul and four other major cities said prayers appeared to have passed off without incident, though attendance was low.
However, a German civilian was wounded by a gunshot on the way to the airport before being evacuated, a German government spokesman said. And German broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Taliban fighters killed a member of the family of one of its reporters and badly wounded another in house-to-house searches.
Some Afghans have reported being beaten and having their homes raided, while others say they have received reassurances of safety. Taliban spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.
A witness said several people were killed in the eastern city of Asadabad on Thursday when militants fired on a protest. The Taliban want to establish an "emirate" governed by strict Islamic law.
There were similar shows of defiance in two other eastern cities - Jalalabad and Khost - coinciding with celebrations of the nation's 1919 independence from British control.
In and around Kabul airport, 12 people have been killed since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said.
Washington has about 5,800 soldiers controlling the airport, a US official said.
The United States was "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group such as Islamic State during the evacuation, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News.
BIDEN TO SPEAK
US President Joe Biden was set to speak about the evacuation efforts at 1pm on Friday, having faced a torrent of criticism for his handling of the troop withdrawal, negotiated by the previous US administration.
In Britain, media said several senior officials were on holiday as the Afghan debacle erupted and that spy chiefs may face a grilling over intelligence failings. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab countered that the government had been working "tirelessly" on the evacuations.
Germany said on Friday it was sending helicopters to help.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said other countries should not impose their own values on Afghanistan and that the reality was that the Taliban had taken control of most of the country.
China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan and a Taliban spokesman told Chinese state media that Beijing has played a constructive role and was welcome to contribute to its rebuilding.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9mYWNpbmctYmFja2xhc2gtZm9yZWlnbi1wb3dlcnMtdHJ5LXNwZWVkLWFmZ2hhbmlzdGFuLWV4b2R1cy0yMTI1Njc20gEA?oc=5
2021-08-20 15:08:00Z
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