137 Fatalities from Unexploded Ordnance Blasts in Afghanistan in 2024
Click to start listening
Kabul, Dec 16 (NationPress) A staggering 137 individuals have lost their lives, and more than 330 others have suffered injuries due to the explosions of unexploded ordnances, remnants from former conflicts, across Afghanistan since the beginning of 2024, local media have reported.
As of early 2024, around 240 separate incidents have occurred throughout Afghanistan, leading to a total of 470 fatalities, including 386 children who have been either killed or injured, stated Nooruddin Rustamkhil, the head of the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination, while being quoted by TOLOnews.
Rustamkhil further detailed that among the deceased, there were 125 children, 10 men, and 2 women, while the injured included 264 children, 53 men, and 16 women.
During this timeframe, 150 square kilometers of land have been cleared of unexploded mines, he added.
Afghanistan, which has been ravaged by war, is reportedly one of the most landmine-contaminated regions worldwide, with numerous individuals, primarily children, being killed or injured each month, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
In October, three children were killed and two others injured when an unexploded device exploded in Sari Pul province in northern Afghanistan.
This tragic incident occurred in the Sayad district when the children discovered a device left over from past wars and began to play with it. The device detonated, resulting in the immediate death of three children and injuries to two others.
In July, an explosion of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from previous conflicts claimed the life of one child and injured four others in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. This incident occurred in the Dand district.
Likewise, in May, two children lost their lives, and another was injured after an unexploded device detonated in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan.
In April, nine children died after an unexploded ordnance from former wars detonated in Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan.
Moreover, on March 22, three children were killed, and two others were injured following the explosion of an unexploded device in the southern Helmand province.
