A group of Taliban guerrillas briefly captured a highway in southeastern Afghanistan and punished some passengers for shaving their beards and listening to music, witnesses said on Saturday. The incident was the latest sign of growing activities of the remnants of the Taliban regime since it was thrown out of power in a U.S.-led offensive in late 2001. Witnesses said some 30 Taliban members also hoisted the radical militia's white flag on the road linking Khost and Paktia provinces at Kargha area and set up checkpoints for about three hours on Friday afternoon. "They beat or slapped those who had trimmed or shaved their beards," said 18-year-old witness Mir Zaman. "They told us that we should avoid shaving our beards and listening to music, otherwise the punishment would be harsher if they caught us next time," he told Reuters.
| Shutting down a road for three hours at a time is a do-able guerrilla tactic — it holds it for long enough for the people in the area to know it's been done, not long enough for the government to send troops to kill you. The tactics they used won't gain them any support, though. Slapping people around is not a good way to make them like you. In Afghanistan, it should be bringing back some fairly recent memories. |
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