Taliban Marks Five Years of Rule in Afghanistan

Taliban supporters gathered in Kabul on Saturday to celebrate five years since the group returned to power following the collapse of the Western-backed republic.

UNESCO estimates that 2.4 million girls remain excluded from secondary education, while the World Food Programme reports critical child malnutrition in one-third of Afghan provinces.

Taliban officials used the anniversary to demand international recognition and the release of billions of dollars in state reserves currently frozen abroad.