On Friday, a piece of unexploded ordnance that had remained from previous wars detonated in the Shapoli area of Dand Patan district in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province, killing a child and leaving four others injured, according to reports from Xinhua on Saturday.
Munib Zadran, the provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua that the device had been discovered by the children, who began playing with it before it exploded. He described the explosion as killing one child on the spot while injuring four additional children.
One child was killed and four others sustained injuries after unexploded ordnance left over from past wars went off in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktia province on Friday, a local police official said on Saturday.
AFG remains one of the world’s most heavily contaminated countries with landmines and unexploded ordnance, an enduring legacy of more than four decades of successive wars and internal strife, officials said. The incident underscores how remnants of past conflicts continue to pose a lethal threat to civilians in Afghanistan, particularly to children in rural districts who may unknowingly encounter such devices.
The Shapoli area, part of the Dand Patan district, has experienced ongoing challenges related to unexploded ordnance, an issue that has persisted through various phases of military activity and civil unrest. Local authorities have highlighted the need for continued vigilance, outreach, and removal efforts in affected regions to mitigate the risk posed by these hazardous remnants of war.