KABUL, Afghanistan

Processions to mark Afghanistan’s 102nd Independence Day turned violent in a number of cities Wednesday, with many participants reportedly fired on by the Taliban.

Locals in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, told Anadolu Agency that they wanted to hoist the tri-color national flag of Afghanistan in the city’s Martyrs Square, but the Taliban opposed it and subsequent clashes led to casualties.

According to a report by the Al-Jazeera news agency, at least three participants of the rally were killed.

Following the Taliban’s sweeping battlefield victories and advances on the capital, Kabul, the state structure is literally static if not completely collapsed and unable to confirm or reject the reports.

The Taliban have not commented.

According to the local Salam Afghanistan radio, similar incidents have been reported on social media from neighboring Kunar province and southeastern Khost province.

It is pivotal to note that Afghanistan has been marking its Independence Day from the British, but now with the arrival of the Taliban, a debate over changing the tri-color Afghan flag back to the white Taliban flag has emerged.