May 03, 2024

Landmines Claim Lives or Limbs of 110 Afghans Each Month

topic:	Political violence
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Amid the international community's ongoing disregard, ten innocent Afghan children have become the latest casualties of the thousands of deadly landmines that litter war-torn Afghanistan.

Kids in the central Ghazni province found the toy-like deadly landmines in the dusty fields near their homes last month when they blew up on them, killing nine children and injuring two more.

These incidents are not uncommon in areas where the Taliban engaged in turf wars with the US-led coalition forces in the past 20 years. With the exit of the US and allied troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have taken over command in the country, and the few demining operations funded by the humanitarian world have almost ceased, leaving a massive rural population at the mercy of the deadly landmines.

Seeking global attention to this dilemma, the United Nations Mine Action Service said last week that greater efforts were needed to clear remnants of war and improvised explosive devices. In a series of posts on its official X account, the UNMAS, citing Nicholas Pond, the Chief of Mine Action Section, said: "There is now a great opportunity for the Afghan people to consolidate peace through the safe restoration of their livelihoods, unhindered by the remnants of war."

Since 1989, about 45,000 Afghan civilians have been recorded to have been killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), averaging around 110 people per month. Improvised mines (IM) and ERW from armed clashes caused nearly 99 per cent of the casualties recorded in 2023. In the same year, more than 89 per cent per cent of the ERW casualties were children.

Adding to the gravity of the situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross has reported a toll of 673 lives lost to landmine explosions in Afghanistan in 2023 alone. Alarmingly, children comprise 60 per cent of these casualties.

Considering this appalling situation in the wake of drastic cut downs in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan makes the lives of these children even more vulnerable. The UN's estimates suggest Afghanistan has received less than 10 per cent of the life-saving humanitarian aid.

Against this backdrop, the potential shuttering of demining poses a grave threat to the progress made in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnances, jeopardising the safety and well-being of Afghan communities. 

Image by Amber Clay.

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