Two reportedly killed as women take part in rare protest in Afghanistan

Taliban police used live fire to disperse a rare protest against the detention of women accused of violating strict Islamic dress codes in the western Afghan city of Herat, witnesses and protesters said.

Medics told the BBC two people died, but did not specify how. A number of others at the protest were injured.

Both men and women had taken to the streets days after local Taliban government officials reportedly began arresting women perceived to be "improperly wearing the hijab".

Police in Herat denied there had been any deaths, but have acknowledged they responded to the protest, telling the BBC that officers had "taken action to ensure security and maintain public order".

It is unclear what methods police used to break up the protest. Witnesses say the police opened fire, but the police did not confirm this when asked directly by the BBC.

One protester told AFP that the security forces "used sticks, whips and firearms to disperse the crowd. They even fired shots into the air".

He told the news agency he saw people wounded. "People are extremely frightened," he said. AFP also quoted a photographer who said he had seen security forces "striking protesters and firing weapons in the direction of the crowd".

"Based on what I personally witnessed, a significant number of people were injured," the photographer said.

The BBC could not independently verify the accounts.

Gunfire can be clearly heard in videos circulating online, while women can be heard screaming "don't beat [them]".

Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesperson for the Herat Police Command, said the protesters "acted in a manner that disturbed public order".

He added they were trying to "create tension under the pretext of protesting issues related to the observance of hijab and opposing Islamic hijab, which is considered a divine obligation".

In one clip, some protesters can be heard chanting "education, work, freedom", the BBC's Afghan service reported.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations' special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said on social media site X he was "alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today", calling on those responsible to be "held accountable".

Protests against the Taliban, especially by women, have been rare in Afghanistan since they retook power in August 2021.

Initial attempts by women to defy the strict new rules brought in to control everything from their clothes to their education petered out, with women telling the BBC they were cowed by officials' response to their protests - including being beaten, abused, jailed and even threatened with death by stoning.

The wearing of a hijab is one of many rules brought in by the Taliban, who made it mandatory in May 2022.

However, this latest crackdown in Herat was reportedly only announced on Friday.