KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Three children were killed in Bala Murghab district of Badghis province in northwestern Afghanistan after a landmine left over from past conflicts detonated, Taliban authorities said.
According to a statement from the Taliban security command in Badghis, the incident occurred on Thursday, November 13, when the children, while herding livestock, found the explosive device and were playing with it when it went off, killing all of them instantly.
The incident comes just a week after a similar blast in the same district killed two other children, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by unexploded ordnance in the region.
Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most heavily contaminated countries with landmines and other remnants of war. Decades of conflict have left vast areas of the country unsafe, with children particularly vulnerable to accidental detonations.
The United Nations estimates that around two-thirds of Afghanistan’s districts are affected by explosive hazards, putting more than six million people at risk. According to the HALO Trust, an international demining organization, unexploded ordnance kills or injures at least 50 people every month in Afghanistan, and over 80% of the victims are children.
Despite the ongoing dangers, demining operations in Afghanistan are being scaled back due to funding shortfalls. Many UN agencies and aid organizations have been forced to reduce or close programs aimed at clearing mines and educating communities about the risks.
In his report to the UN Security Council in June, Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to provide immediate funding to prevent further deaths and lifelong injuries from unexploded ordnance, describing the situation as a critical humanitarian crisis.
