Kabul, The Indonesia Post – A fireworks display took place in Kabul on Tuesday night to mark the first year of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which the Taliban calls ‘Freedom Day’.
“Fireworks of various beautiful colors will be displayed to mark Victory Day,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said earlier on Tuesday.
The fireworks display was accompanied by celebrations with gunfire from many areas of Kabul, the Afghan capital.
The Taliban, Afghanistan’s de facto government, also declared Wednesday a national holiday in commemoration of the anniversary, the labor ministry said.
The 2021 withdrawal of US troops was completed one minute before midnight local time on August 30 – when control of Afghanistan was seized by the Taliban.
Prior to that, the Taliban had waged a 20-year insurgency against US-led international forces, which invaded Afghanistan on October 1, 2001 after the September 11 attacks on New York.
The head of US Central Command last year said there was “a lot of sadness” about the withdrawal.
Having failed to anticipate that the Taliban would seize victory so quickly, the US and its fellow NATO allies (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) withdrew their troops hastily.
The US completed the withdrawal from Afghanistan by flying in personnel on a large scale.
The flight, which went awry, killed 13 US personnel.
The chaos has also left thousands of Afghans as well as hundreds of Americans, scrambling to flee to escape Taliban rule, left behind.
Some of them were then able to leave, but many others were still in Afghanistan.
The Taliban is trying to build a fully functioning government that is recognized by the international community.
The group is currently also facing resistance from within, led by the Afghan group ISIS network. (mhn/bbs)
Source: Reuters
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