At least four farmers died, and five others were injured in a dispute over the poppy field destruction in the northeastern Darayim district of Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.
The incident took place on Thursday in the hamlet of Doabe Tagab in the Badakhshan region's Darayim district, when the Taliban troops reportedly arrived to burn the locals' paddy fields.
A disagreement developed when the farmers demanded payback for the money invested in their lands. As a result, farmers came under fire from Taliban forces, resulting in four deaths and five injuries.
Another local source claimed that 15 people were harmed in the altercation, including the district commander and six additional Taliban members, reported Khaama Press.
The locals, horrified by the Taliban's actions, demanded that those responsible be brought to justice. On the other hand, the Taliban were seen establishing a roadblock in the area out of concern about a local uprising.
According to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, opium cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 32 per cent over the previous year to 233,000 hectares since the Taliban's takeover in August 2021, making the 2022 crop the third-largest area under opium cultivation since monitoring began, Khaama Press reported.
Conversely, opium prices have skyrocketed in Afghanistan since the Taliban imposed the ban on cultivation in April 2022.
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