In a devastating incident in southeastern Afghanistan, nine children lost their lives in a blast caused by a landmine that had been laid during the country’s prolonged conflicts. The tragic event occurred in the Geru district of Ghazni province when a group of young boys and girls were playing with the mine on Sunday.
Hamidullah Nisar, the provincial head of the information and culture department, confirmed the heartbreaking news, stating that the explosion occurred due to an unexploded mine from the time of the Russian invasion. “An unexploded mine left over from the time of the Russian invasion went off when they were playing with it,” Nisar reported to AFP. “Unfortunately, it killed nine children.”
According to Ghazni police, the victims comprised five girls and four boys aged between four and ten years old. The incident underscores the dangerous legacy of unexploded ordnance and mines scattered throughout Afghanistan, remnants of decades of conflict from the Soviet invasion in 1979 to the recent Taliban insurgency.
Despite a reduction in violence following the Taliban’s assumption of power in August 2021, such tragic accidents continue to occur, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by unexploded ordnance and mines. The International Committee of the Red Cross has noted that children are often the primary victims of these lethal remnants of war.
In a separate incident on the same day, tragedy struck again as another child lost their life and five individuals were wounded when unexploded ordnance detonated in Herat province. Local police reported this additional loss on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), further emphasizing the persistent danger posed by leftover explosives in war-affected regions.
The heartbreaking loss of innocent lives in these incidents serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for comprehensive efforts to clear landmines and unexploded ordnance from civilian areas, safeguarding vulnerable populations, particularly children, from such tragic accidents.
Sources By Agencies