Conflicts & War

One killed, 8 injured in attack at journalists’ awards show in Afghanistan

Kabul, Mar 11 (EFE).- At least one person was killed and eight others were wounded Saturday in an attack at a cultural center in northern Afghanistan where a journalists’ awards ceremony was being held.

Several members of the Taliban regional government and other local leaders also attended the ceremony in Mazar-e-sharif.

The attack shortly before noon left one worker at the Shiite center dead, Balkh provincial police spokesman Mohammad Asif Waziri told Efe, adding that eight others were injured, including five journalists and three children, as a result of an explosion. All were recovering in hospital.

Waziri said that the cultural center had not informed authorities of the event, which likely led to security breaches.

No armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

This is the second incident in Balkh province in recent days, after the regional Taliban governor, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, and two others were killed on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up during a government business meeting.

Muzammil’s death made him the highest-ranking official to be killed since the Taliban came to power in August 2021.

Although the Taliban have had full control of Afghanistan for several months, the government, without access to reserves or international banking, has had limited resources to get the country up and running.

Since their arrival to power, militant groups tied to the Islamic State have multiplied their attacks against the Taliban.

The situation for journalists has also worsened significantly since the Taliban’s return, and they have been constrained by censorship and repression.

According to a report published in August by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Afghanistan lost 60% of its journalists and almost 40% of its media outlets in just one year.EFE

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