The Tragic Legacy of Unexploded Ordnance Taking Children's Lives in War... A Shadow Cast Over Ukraine Too

Children are sitting in front of temporary brick houses at a refugee camp in Herat Province, central-western Afghanistan. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Although the Afghanistan (Afgan) war ended after 20 years, accidents causing the deaths of children continue due to remnants of the war scattered across the country.

According to Tolo News on the 2nd (local time), five children died and two were injured when an old unexploded ordnance exploded in Helmand Province in southern Afgan the day before.

A Taliban official stated that children aged 3 to 12 were playing with unexploded ordnance they found when it suddenly exploded, resulting in fatalities.

This is not the first accident caused by unexploded ordnance that remained unexploded in Afgan. On April 14, 2019, unexploded ordnance exploded in Laghman Province in the east, killing seven children under 15 and injuring ten. Also, on November 3 last year, a similar accident in Kunduz Province in the north resulted in at least seven deaths, including children, and six injuries.

Although the Afgan war ended last August with the Taliban regaining power after 20 years, unexploded ordnance remains as remnants of the long war in various places.

In particular, the US military firing range sites stationed in Afgan were filled with dangerous unexploded grenades, rockets, and mortar shells. Last year, when the US military withdrew from Afgan, they did not have the capacity to dispose of the unexploded ordnance at these firing ranges.

As a result, dozens of children are known to have died or been injured while playing near the US military firing range sites.

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) expressed concern that Afgan children are always exposed to the risk of accidents involving unexploded ordnance while scavenging for scrap metal.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia, it is predicted that it will take years to dismantle unexploded ordnance and landmines even after the war ends.

Denys Monastyrsky, Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, said in an interview with AP News on the 18th of last month, "a tremendous amount of ammunition was fired in Ukraine, and a significant portion of it did not explode," adding, "They still remain under the debris and pose a substantial threat."

Minister Monastyrsky predicted, "It will take not months but years to remove these." He added, "Western support will be needed to tackle this enormous task once the war ends."