Two U.N. staff members detained by authorities in Afghanistan were released on Thursday in good health, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a press briefing.
– The two Afghan staff members of the U.N.’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) were detained in the western city of Herat on August 9, following a string of detentions by Taliban authorities.
– Dujarric said the circumstances of the staffers’ detention and what they had been accused of “remains very unclear, and we’re trying to get more details.”
– “We’re just delighted that they’ve been released, they’re in good health, and they face apparently no more judicial legal issues,” he said.
– As the U.N.’s political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA is involved in human rights monitoring and data gathering. The Taliban have frequently criticized its reports.
– The detentions became public days before the Taliban celebrated the fifth anniversary of their return to power.