Report claims over 1,000 people killed, injured by landmines, IEDs in Afghanistan last year

As many as 1,016 people, mostly children, were killed and injured by landmines and IEDs across the country last year, said the officials of the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).

Qari Nooruddin Rostamkhel, in charge of demining coordination at ANDMA, made the remarks on Thursday, in a meeting on the occasion of International Mine Awareness and Assistance Day in capital Kabul, The Frontier Post reported.

He said on average about 120 people were killed or injured by landmines and IEDs in the country every month.

Over 20 square kilometers of land has been cleared in 20 provinces in the past seven months, he said, adding that in the last 30 years, 1,260,550 anti-personnel mines, 18,351,422 of unexploded ordnance and 1,264 hand grenades have been discovered and defused in the country, The Frontier Post reported.

It further reported that during the clearing operations, 3,196 villages have been cleared and 606 square kilometers of land, which is registered in the national database, required demining, he said. He said that over 1,000 landmine clearance workers were also killed in the last three decades.

Sharafuddin Muslim, deputy ANDMA head, said that there was currently no any security problem in the country and mine cleaning agencies should accelerate their operations in Afghanistan.

Mines are hidden enemy of all the people and should be eradicated jointly. People who have lost their organs in demining program should be financially supported by the relevant organizations, he said.

Mariana, head of Halo Trust, an international demining organization, said at the meeting that Afghanistan is one of the countries with most land mines that cause highest casualties, according to The Frontier Post.

( With inputs from ANI )

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