Thousands of people gathered in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar on December 25 to pray for rain as the drought in the region continues, causing mounting desperation.
Kandahar's information and culture department chief, Hafiz Saidullah, told the dpa news agency that tens of thousands of people from towns and villages had joined the ceremony.
The participants prayed for rain and an end to the drought that has hit many of the country’s provinces.
Images shared on social media showed a large crowd at the event organized by the Taliban.
Currently, Afghanistan is experiencing one of its worst droughts and food shortages in decades, with a humanitarian crisis looming.
The United Nations has warned that more than half of the country’s population could face acute hunger this winter due to the impact of drought, conflict, the coronavirus pandemic, and the ongoing economic crisis.