Three Shot Dead And Dozens Injured In Riots With Civil War Looming

ANTI-Taliban riots broke out yesterday as the evacuation of Brits out of Kabul continued and civil war loomed.

- Chris Hughes

In Jalalabad three protesters were shot dead and dozens injured in a crackdown after trying to replace the Taliban flag with an Afghan emblem.

Taliban rape gangs have stalked Afghan towns outside Kabul, picking off victims as young as 12 and even forcing them into marriages.

Across Afghanistan, anti-Taliban rebels raised the flags of Afghanistan and rebel Northern Alliance fighters.

The Northern Alliance – which defeated the Taliban 20 years ago – is holed up in Panjshir, north of Kabul, and gathering support.

Afghanistan’s last hope is led by Sandhursteducated Ahmad Massoud, the son of ex-Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was murdered by al-Qaeda.