Taliban arrests 2 journalists on assignment with United Nations

Taliban forces in Kabul arrested North, a former BBC journalist on assignment for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and another journalist whose name was not released, and transferred them to an undisclosed location, according to a statement on Twitter by the UNHCR; Twitter posts by former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh and BBC Executive Editor for World News Content Paul Danahar; and the Afghanistan International TV Station, an independent London-based outlet.
“The Taliban’s detention of two journalists on assignment with the UN refugee agency is a sad reflection of the overall decline of press freedom and increasing attacks on journalists under Taliban rule,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. “Andrew North and the other, unidentified journalist should be freed immediately and allowed to continue their work, and the Taliban must halt its repeated attacks on and harassment of journalists.”
The Washington Post quoted an unnamed Taliban official as saying that several foreigners were arrested in Kabul on charges of working for Western intelligence agencies.
North is a former BBC reporter who now independently reports on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Asia, according to his personal website. His Twitter account shows posts from the southern Kandahar and Helmand provinces in late January; he last tweeted on February 3.