TV & VIDEO - Feb. 15, 1989

A three-man French television crew was ordered to leave Afghanistan on Tuesday for traveling out of Kabul without official permission. The crew was attempting to contact U.S.-backed rebel forces in the war-torn country. Patrick Bourrat, head of the team, said he and his two colleagues from TF1 Television were told to take a Tuesday afternoon flight to New Delhi from the Afghan capital. “It was the result of a misunderstanding,” Bourrat said. The three filmed government positions and were apprehended by troops as they tried driving toward guerrilla-held mountains. The government troops ordered them to return to Kabul, where officials told them they were being expelled. “But they have said that we can come back,” Bourrat added. More than 200 journalists are currently in Kabul covering the Soviet withdrawal.