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NATO Raid to Rescue Journalists Sparks Controversy

11/09/09September 11, 2009

A NATO commando raid in northern Afghanistan to secure the release of a New York Times reporter and his Afghan aide from Taliban rebels earlier this week has sparked a controversy. Stephen Farrell, the NYT journalist was freed in the raid, but Sultan Munadi, the Afghan journalist was shot and died. Munadi’s death has angered Afghan media activists and journalists, who say the operation could have been avoided and that the matter should have been handled in a non-violent way.

https://p.dw.com/p/Lrqu
34 year old Sultan Munadi had regularly worked with The New York Times and other news organisations
34 year old Sultan Munadi had regularly worked with The New York Times and other news organisationsImage: AP

Just a day after the deadly NATO airstrike in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz last Friday, Stephen Farrell, a British-Irish journalist working for the New York Times and his Afghan colleague Sultan Munadi reached the location to interview local residents about the air strike.

But both men were abducted by Taliban rebels and held captive for fours days. Last Wednesday, British Special Forces launched a rescue mission that climaxed in a firefight between the British troops and the Taliban. Farrell escaped unharmed but Munadi was caught in the crossfire and died in a hail of bullets. There were other casualties too. A British soldier, an Afghan woman and a child were also killed.

Criticism over the raid

Though the exact circumstances of Munadi's death remain unclear, the rescue mission has sparked anger in the media community in Afghanistan. “The Afghan journalists are very sad and very angry about the way the operation was conducted,” says Rahimullah Samandar, the head of Afghanistan's Independent Journalist Association. “It was sudden and unorganised.”

Samander says the journalists are also unhappy with the way Munadi’s bullet-ridden body was abandoned at the scene. “They took the NYT’s reporter out, but left the dead body of the Afghan journalist there. This has angered the journalists more.”

‘Death was avoidable’

Munadi’s family is deeply shocked and outraged over the killing. Slamming the rescue mission in an interview with the AFP news agency, Munadi’s brother, Mohammad Osman said that his brother’s death had been avoidable as efforts were underway to secure the release of the duo through negotiations.

Faryad Paykar of the Media club of Afghanistan, an informal grouping of Afghan journalists working for the international media agrees. "The MCA holds the international forces responsible for the death of Munadi because they resorted to military action before exhausting other, non-violent means."

Training local journalists

The latest incident has brought back the memory of the abduction of an Italian journalist, his Afghan interpreter and driver in Helmand province in 2007. Back then the release of the Italian journalist was secured in exchange for five Taliban prisoners. But it proved impossible to save the Afghan interpreter and the driver and they were killed by their captors. Samander, therefore, feels that the international media should take better care of the local journalists they work with in Afghanistan.

“Afghan journalists are angry that our journalists working with the international media are not being taken care of. They are not given safety training for instance how they can be safer in conflict areas. But the international journalists don’t care about this.”

Meanwhile Britain has regretted Munadi's death, but has defended its decision to launch the military raid, saying it was left with no other option as its rescue team came under rocket-propelled grenade fire during the operation. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has also dismissed the calls to launch an official inquiry into the decision to order the raid.

Author: Disha Uppal
Editor: Grahame Lucas