Tens of thousands of minority Shia Hazaras on Monday marched through the streets of the Afghan capital to protest at the proposed route for a major power transmission line, in a brewing political crisis for the beleaguered Government.
Security forces locked down central Kabul, blocking key intersections with stacked shipping containers as the protesters marched on the presidential palace - demanding that the line linking energy-rich Central Asia pass through a central Hazara-dominated area in Afghanistan.
The demonstration highlights the war-torn nation’s turbulent politics. It follows one of the biggest anti-government rallies for years last November, which was sparked by the beheading of a group of Hazaras.
Some protesters threw stones at officials and banged on the sides of containers but the demonstration was largely peaceful.
“(President) Ashraf Ghani is hiding himself behind blast walls,” Dawood Naji, a Hazara leader, told flag-waving demonstrators, drawing rousing applause.
“We can break down these containers if we want but we are here to protest in a civilised way for our rights.”