KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – About 68,000 children have been forced from their homes in eastern Afghanistan due to escalating armed clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani forces, the aid agency Save the Children said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the organization said that the fighting has forced thousands of families to flee their homes in several eastern provinces, leaving many children without access to basic services, including education and healthcare.
Save the Children estimated that around 134,000 people in the region have been affected by disruptions to its humanitarian activities, including health, nutrition, child protection, and education programs.
The agency said hundreds of classes and temporary learning spaces supported by the organization and its partners have been suspended, leaving more than 8,000 children currently out of school. Several child care centers in the affected areas have also been forced to close due to insecurity.
“Tens of thousands of children have lost everything that gives them stability and security,” Arshad Malik, Asia regional director for Save the Children, said in the statement.
“They have been forced from their homes, cut off from education and healthcare, and stripped of protection,” he added, warning that continued violence could deepen the humanitarian crisis facing children and their families in the affected areas.
The agency urged all parties to de-escalate hostilities, protect civilians—particularly children—and comply with international humanitarian law.
Clashes erupted around two weeks ago and have continued along the border, with Pakistani military airstrikes targeting sites in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
According to the United Nations, at least 56 civilians were killed, and 129 were injured in Afghanistan during hostilities between Feb. 26 and March 5, with women and children accounting for 55% of the casualties.
Despite calls for cessation from regional countries including China, Russia, and Turkey, as well as the United Nations and humanitarian groups, there is no immediate sign of an end to the fighting.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities have deteriorated since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, reaching a low point in recent months. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups and allowing cross-border attacks, claims the Taliban deny.
