According to Taliban security officials, a mortar shell explosion in Kunduz province has killed one child.
Abdullah Abedi, spokesman for the Taliban Police in Kunduz province, said the event occurred before noon on Tuesday, 7th June, in the village of Kunjid Mazar in the province’s Qala-e-Zal district.
He went on to say that the explosion happened while the child was playing with an unexploded ordnance.
Afghanistan’s 40-year-old wars continue to kill people, particularly children.
Furthermore, the Taliban officials states that mines and explosive ordnance cover 606 square kilometers of Afghanistan.
A mortar shell detonated in Kunduz province earlier in late May, killing two children and injuring another, which according to the Taliban officials, the children were playing with mortar shells as it exploded.
The explosion of an unexploded ordnance in Ghazni province also killed one child and wounded another, on May 20th.
In the last seven months, 301 children in Afghanistan have been killed or injured by explosive remnants of war and landmines, according to UNICEF. The actual figure is thought to be much higher.
Following the Taliban’s return to the power, there has been an increase in child killings and fatalities, as well as violence against children, whether directly or indirectly.
