The Taliban are beating young Afghans for wearing Western clothes, according to reports — as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged there have been some “tough encounters” between insurgents and those trying to flee Kabul.

A group of young Afghan men claim Taliban fighters beat, whipped and threatened them at gunpoint for wearing jeans and other Western-style clothes in Kabul, the Telegraph reports.

The young men said the insurgents accused them of disrespecting Islam with their clothing choices.

A reporter with Afghan newspaper Etilaatroz also said he was beaten over the weekend for not wearing “Afghan clothes.”