Journalists were covering the UN’s aid distribution Cameraman attacked with a whip, reporters pushed around LONDON: Several armed Taliban members attacked an Al-Hadath TV team on Wednesday during a live broadcast while they were covering the Food and Agriculture Organization’s humanitarian aid distribution in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. In the video of the incident, Al-Hadath’s Kabul correspondent Christiane Baissary and her camera crew are seen being pushed around by men carrying guns, while the camera pans away. Baissary is then heard saying “they attacked the cameraman,” while the camera focuses on two men waving their hands and guns at the TV team. Al-Hadath’s correspondent then explains that the men are Taliban members in civilian dress. “Some said we could film here, but others said we cannot,” explains Baissary. In the video, one armed Taliban man waves the camera away, and then forces the cameraman from the scene. Baissary reiterates that one man has allowed them to film the FAO’s food aid distribution, but that another has attacked the cameraman with a whip, which is seen in his hand. Baissary is then heard saying that they have to leave the scene, with the camera still rolling. As the team members climb into their car, another Taliban man with a gun approaches the vehicle and the reporter is heard saying: “They entered the car and they are armed.” The armed man then speaks to the driver and they drive off. Since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have cracked down on press freedom in the country, prompting several watchdogs to increasingly voice their concerns about the safety of media workers. According to the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan ranks 156 out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of the press. At least 12 journalists were arbitrarily arrested in Afghanistan in May, according to Reporters without Borders, despite the Taliban announcing the creation of a system for protecting media personnel.