The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Three children were killed and another was injured when unexploded ordnance detonated in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban authorities in Nangarhar province said.
Sayed Tayeb Hamad, a spokesman for the Taliban authorities
in Nangarhar, said the children were playing with an old piece of ordnance in
the Zawa area of Khogyani district when it exploded after they struck it.
The injured child was taken to a hospital, Hamad said.
The incident highlights the continuing threat posed by
unexploded ordnance in Afghanistan, where decades of conflict have left mines,
abandoned munitions and other explosive remnants in civilian areas.
The United Nations said in April that Afghanistan has the
world's third-highest rate of casualties from explosive ordnance, with about 50
people killed or injured each month. Nearly 80% of those casualties are
children. About 90% of the casualties are caused by unexploded ordnance and
abandoned munitions left behind after more than four decades of conflict.
More than 1,000 square kilometers of land in Afghanistan are
known to be contaminated by explosive ordnance, according to the U.N. Nearly 3
million people, about 900 education facilities and more than 200 health
facilities are located within 1 kilometer of contaminated areas. The U.N. says
those figures could be higher because many districts have not yet been fully
surveyed.
A separate U.N. report covering late 2025 and early 2026
said unexploded ordnance continued to harm civilians, mostly children. During
that reporting period, UNAMA documented 26 civilian deaths and 69 injuries
caused by unexploded ordnance.
