Four local employees of Germany’s main aid agency arrested in Afghanistan

BERLIN (AP) — A German government official says Taliban authorities in Afghanistan arrested four local employees of Germany’s main government-owned aid agency. “I can confirm that the local employees of GIZ are in custody although we have not received any official information on why they are detained,” a spokeswoman for the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said late Saturday. “We are taking this situation very seriously and are working through all channels available to us to ensure that our colleagues are released,” she added. The German Agency for International Cooperation, or GIZ, operates in around 120 countries worldwide. The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021 and gradually reimposed their harsh interpretation of Islamic law.