Unexploded ordnance detonated killing one child and injuring another after the kids discovered it and began playing with it in Sayed Abad district of central Maidan Wardak province, local sources said Thursday.
Wahidullah Sarwari, Taliban’s spokesperson in the province, confirmed the incident and said it occurred in the district’s Sheniz Darah area.
However, Sarwari did not provide more detail.
In April, an unexploded rocket shell claimed two children’s lives in the province.
According to the UN, Afghanistan has one of the highest levels of explosive ordnance contamination in the world and $18.3M is needed for survey, explosive ordnance disposal, and landmine clearance in 2023.
Recently, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan reported that more than 700 children were killed or maimed because of unexploded ordinances and war remnants in 2022 across the country. This is an average of two children every day.
