Thousands of people, including women, in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, took to the streets, protesting against the Taliban which has ordered them to vacate their houses in government-owned residential colonies just weeks before the winter season was to set in. 

Many houses in the colonies were allotted during the time of earlier--now collapsed--government, according to a report in CNN. “There were likely irregularities and corruption involved in the transfer of properties, resulting in the illegal sales of property to residents,” Mohammad Ibrahim, a civil activist in Kandahar, was quoted as saying in the report. 

Many among those who received eviction orders are the families of former police and army officials. Some of them have been living there for almost 20 years. When the Taliban seized power last month, the group’s leaders had assured the residents that they would protect private properties. However, the recent moves run contrary to their earlier assurances.

Some local journalists also claimed that they were barred from covering protests. Videos and pictures of the protests, circulated on social media platforms, showed women and men, carrying the tricolor flag of the republic, chanted slogans against the Taliban.  

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan exactly a month ago, toppling the US-backed Afghan government. Since then, several cities saw protests against the Taliban. Journalists who were covering the protests were treated harshly by the Taliban, with many of them were detained and brutally assaulted. 

Last week, the United Nations (UN) called on the Taliban "to immediately cease the use of force towards, and the arbitrary detention of, those exercising their right to peaceful assembly and the journalists covering the protests."

Calling the Taliban’s response to peaceful marches "increasingly violent", Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said Friday the group used live ammunition, batons, and whips, causing the death of at least four people. 

(SAM)