Media

Two journalists have been shot and killed after unidentified gunmen stormed a radio station in northeastern Afghanistan, their colleagues and officials say, the latest deadly attack on reporters in the war-torn country.

Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani, both in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar Province.

Both Hussaini and police said they had no idea of the motive for the February 5 attack.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility.

Provincial police chief Rashid Bashir said that an investigation was under way.

"Two unidentified gunmen entered the radio station's office at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They opened fire on two reporters who were behind their mics during a live program," Bashir said.

It was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year.

On January 5, journalist Javid Noori was shot dead in his native province of Farah in Afghanistan's west.

A Taliban spokesman said the militant group killed Noori because he worked for the government.

The Taliban and other Islamist groups have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year for Afghanistan's media, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The Paris-based media watchdog urged the police to "conduct a thorough investigation" in order to identify the latest attack's perpetrators and instigators, Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Iran-Afghanistan desk, said in a statement.

Radio Hamsada employs 11 people, including seven women, and has been broadcasting from 6 a.m. to midnight since 2007, according to RSF.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International described the attack as a "horrific crime" and urged the authorities to ensure protection for journalists so they could work "freely and without fear."

In a statement, Amnesty South Asia researcher Zaman Sultani said the attack "once again highlights the risks journalists continue to face in Afghanistan for just doing their job."

The U.S. ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, said he was "saddened and angered" by the killings.

"It is time to #EndImpunity for crimes against journalists. #PressFreedom," he tweeted.

Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the killing of Afghan journalist Javid Noori, who was shot dead by the Taliban in his native province of Farah in Afghanistan's west.

Noori, who worked for the Farah regional government as well as hosting two programs on local Radio Neshat, was travelling on a bus with around 30 other passengers when it was stopped and searched at a Taliban roadblock on January 5, RSF said in a statement on January 8.

The Taliban militants shot Noori after finishing their search, it added.

"This summary execution is the first death of a journalist in 2019 to be registered on RSF's barometer," said Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Afghanistan-Iran desk.

"There is an urgent need to end such practices. We reiterate our appeal to the international community to condition the start of any talks with the Taliban on their giving an explicit undertaking to respect international humanitarian law's basic treaties, starting with the Geneva Conventions," Moini said.

Noori, 27, began hosting a Radio Neshat program, Psychology Of The Green Life, in 2016, after completing his psychology studies at the University of Kabul.

For the past year, Noori had also been hosting the Friday evening program on social issues.

Local officials in Farah said Noori's body was found and turned over to his family on January 8.

A Taliban spokesman said the militant group killed Noori because he worked for the government.

He added that the Taliban had also seized 13 pro-government militiamen as suspected spies who were on the same bus.

The Taliban and other militant groups have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the Afghan media, according to RSF.

Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

With reporting by Reuters