UN: Children Constitute 78% of Landmine Victims in Afghanistan
In as indicator reflecting the continued occurrence of human victims of conflicts, UN announced that children constitute 78% of the victims of landmine and explosive remnants incidents in Afghanistan during the first eight months of the current year.
NEWS CENTER_Childhood in Afghanistan faces a silent and deadly threat that pursues them in the alleys of their villages and their play areas, where unexploded war remnants have turned into suffering that reaps the lives of the innocent and maims their bodies daily.
The United Nations revealed today,Thursday, the eighth of October, that children constitute 78% of the victims of landmine and explosive remnants incidents in Afghanistan during the past eight months, in an indicator of the continuation of risks threatening the population, despite the passage of years since the end of major phases of the conflict in the country.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), landmines and unexploded ordnance still constitute a daily threat to Afghans, especially children who are exposed to the risk of injury or death while playing or moving in areas contaminated with war remnants.
It noted that clearing war remnants represents a necessity to protect civilians, in light of the continued presence of quantities of explosives left by decades of conflicts. It warned of a large funding gap allocated to addressing the landmine and explosive remnants crisis in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is among the countries suffering from a long legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance, as a result of more than four decades of wars and conflicts. During that period, armed parties spread throughout the country planted mines in vast areas, while unexploded ordnance remained scattered across the country, including populated areas.
In a separate report by "Save the Children," it revealed that at least 338 children were killed or injured as a result of unexploded ordnance, including landmines and other war remnants, during the period extending from November 2025 until November of the current year.
The figures of war remnant victims in Afghanistan reflect the scale of the continuing danger to children, even in areas that no longer witness direct military confrontations. The danger of these remnants increases due to the difficulty of distinguishing them, especially for children who may approach them without realizing their nature.
The UN figures also confirm that ending combat operations does not necessarily mean the end of the dangers of war, as landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a long-term threat, requiring continuous funding to remove them and limit further victims.