With armed Taliban fighters behind him, Afghan TV anchor says 'Don't be afraid' - Watch

Amid the chaotic and desperate scenes in Afghanistan, a video has gone viral on social media where a frightened news anchor, with armed Taliban fighters behind him in the studio, is saying, 'Don't be afraid.' 

The incident comes when the Taliban, which is now has taken control over war-torn Afghanistan, has promised a free press.

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist, shared the video on Twitter, and wrote, "This is surreal. Taliban militants are posing behind this visibly petrified TV host with guns and making him say that people of #Afghanistan shouldn’t be scared of the Islamic Emirate. Taliban itself is synonymous with fear in the minds of millions. This is just another proof."

See the video here:

This is surreal. Taliban militants are posing behind this visibly petrified TV host with guns and making him to say that people of #Afghanistan shouldn’t be scared of the Islamic Emirate. Taliban itself is synonymous with fear in the minds of millions. This is just another proof. pic.twitter.com/3lIAdhWC4Q

— Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) August 29, 2021

Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban after the group was making rapid advances throughout the country as the US started withdrawing its troops. On August 15, the Taliban entered the Afghan capital Kabul, taking control of the presidential palace after which President Ashraf Ghani fled the nation. Since then, reports of journalists being targeted in Afghanistan by the Taliban. 

According to reports, a few days earlier, an Afghan reporter and a cameraman working with Tolo News were thrashed by the Taliban in capital Kabul, while they were reporting. Reportedly, journalists in Kabul and Nangarhar province are being targeted by the Taliban. 

In the past weeks since the Taliban captured Kabul, the group's fighters have raided the homes of journalists and their relatives and they have also killed one family member of a reporter working for a German media organisation, Deutsche Welle (DW).