Taliban Releases Two UN Staff in Afghanistan

Two Afghan employees of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), detained by Taliban authorities in Herat on 9 August, were released on Thursday.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said both were in good health and apparently faced no further legal issues. The circumstances of their detention and what they had been accused of remain unclear.

The detentions became public days before the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power. UNAMA is involved in human rights monitoring and data gathering. The Taliban have frequently criticized its reports.

(Reuters, max)