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KABUL – Ordinary life stopped in the Afghan capital Sunday, with largely closed businesses and many people forced to stay inside while thousands of young men waving knives and rifles Assault descended into the street.
The chaos, which lasted more than eight hours, further highlighted the weakness of the government of US President Ashraf Ghani, who is supported by deep internal discord and is facing increasing militancy.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, at least 13 people were injured, including masked teenagers in convoys of motorcycles and vehicles with tinted glasses.
It was an annual commemoration of the anniversary of the death of Ahmed Shah Massoud, a senior anti-Taliban commander killed 17 years ago by alleged members of Al Qaeda posing as journalists.
On Sunday, gunmen moved from one end of the city to the other, firing various types of weapons. In some areas, the shooting was so intense that it recalled the era of the civil war in Afghanistan.
Some of the young men were only children – and some were not even born – when Massoud died. Several chanted "Vive Massoud".
The family and former comrades of Massoud have moved away from the events of the day.
The shooting stopped and some of the gunmen dispersed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted part of the convoy in a central area of Kabul.
Police reports showed that seven men from the convoy had been killed and more than 20 others injured, but authorities said the toll could increase.
Earlier in the day, security forces said they opened fire and injured a man trying to blow himself up in a crowd of protesters at the Massoud memorial near the US embassy.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the reported attempt and the deadly explosion, although ISIS has been behind such attacks in recent years in Afghanistan.
[Spate of attacks in eastern Afghanistan marks push by Islamic State militants]
Police said they arrested dozens of protesters and seized vehicles, which many have described as unsuccessful attempts by the government to demonstrate control of the situation.
With parliamentary elections next month and a presidential election in April, Sunday's scenes shocked many people.
"I think everyone has enough," Saad Mohseni, director of the MOBY group and man of the Afghan media mogul, said in a tweet.
"They can commemorate in a stadium or somewhere outside the city. Kabul, a city of 5 million people, can not be hijacked because of a few hundred people, "wrote Mohseni.
At the end of the day, dozens of security agents were killed in Taliban attacks.
The deadliest was produced in the northern province of Baghlan, where militants invaded a military base after hours of clashes.
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