Taliban detains journalists working with UN in Afghanistan

The Taliban has detained journalists working for the United Nations in Afghanistan. 

“Two journalists on assignment with UNHCR and Afghan nationals working with them have been detained in Kabul. We are doing our utmost to resolve the situation, in coordination with others,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees tweeted on Friday. 

“Several foreign nationals” were charged with working for Western intelligence agencies and arrested, a Taliban intelligence member told The Washington Post. 

Further details from either side were not given in a country that has been accused of numerous human rights violations since Taliban’s takeover.

Journalists in Afghanistan have been under heavy scrutiny by the Taliban since they took power, making it difficult for them to report. Women have also found it more difficult to work under the U.S.-labeled terrorist group. 

The country is currently on the brink of collapse as nations try to circumvent the Taliban and get humanitarian aid directly to Afghan citizens.

The news comes as other journalists are having trouble in hot spots around the world.

Media companies in the U.S. are urging the Pentagon to let reporters embed with U.S. forces around Ukraine.

As the U.S. sends troops to Europe amid concerns Russia could invade Ukraine, the Pentagon has denied access to reporters despite journalists previously embedding with troops during hostile situations.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into deciding how we handle media access. Some of these decisions are very difficult to make. We take it very seriously and right now we’re trying to balance a lot of factors in terms of the time and space for diplomacy,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.