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Landmines and unexploded ordnance kill, injure 175 in Afghanistan in first five months of 2026

UNOCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko said Afghanistan ranks as the world’s third most affected country in terms of casualties caused by unexploded ordnance.

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At least 175 people were killed or injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Afghanistan between January and May 2026, with children accounting for 75 percent of the casualties, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said on Thursday.

In a post on X, UNOCHA warned that mine action programs in Afghanistan are facing a severe funding shortfall. The agency said $14.5 million is required to sustain demining operations this year, but only $3.6 million had been secured by June.

“Urgent support can prevent further casualties,” UNOCHA said, warning that funding shortages are threatening life-saving mine clearance activities across the country.

During a visit to eastern Afghanistan, UNOCHA spokesperson Olga Cherevko said Afghanistan ranks as the world’s third most affected country in terms of casualties caused by unexploded ordnance.

She said children account for around 80 percent of those casualties, while an average of 50 people are killed or injured every month by landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Cherevko said mine clearance and explosive ordnance risk education are essential to protecting communities by removing explosive hazards and raising public awareness.

However, she warned that many programs are being scaled back or suspended because of critical funding shortages despite the continuing threat.

“Every unexploded munition left in the ground puts another life at risk,” Cherevko said.

Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most heavily contaminated countries with landmines and explosive remnants of decades of conflict. Many hazardous areas are located near villages, farmland, schools and roads, placing civilians—particularly children—at constant risk. Humanitarian organizations say children are especially vulnerable because they often mistake unexploded ordnance for toys or scrap metal.

Figures released by Afghanistan’s National Disaster Preparedness Authority also highlight the scale of the problem. The authority recorded 225 landmine- and UXO-related incidents between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026, resulting in 474 casualties, including 96 deaths and 378 injuries.

According to the authority, 321 of the victims were children and 153 were adults, while 380 were male and 94 were female. The eastern province of Kunar recorded the highest number of incidents, followed by Farah, with Nangarhar, Herat and Kandahar also among the hardest-hit provinces.

Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that without additional donor funding, mine clearance operations and community risk education programs could be significantly reduced, increasing the danger to civilians and slowing efforts to make contaminated land safe for agriculture, housing and public use.

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Four members of one family killed in Helmand in Pakistan airstrike

The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.

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Four members of a family were killed and seven others wounded in an airstrike in Safar area of Garmser district in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to local reports.

The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.

The bodies of those killed and the wounded were transported by helicopter to Ghazni province for burial and medical treatment, according to the reports.

 

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UNAMA acting chief visits Islam Qala border to assess support for returnees

UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.

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Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s acting head, visited western Afghanistan, including the Islam Qala border crossing, to see firsthand UN efforts to support millions of Afghans returning from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

Earlier this year, the UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.

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Trump: Unlike Afghanistan, US took all equipment from Iraq

Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.

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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq with the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying military equipment had been left behind in Afghanistan, while US forces leaving Iraq took their equipment with them.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump referred to the final departure of US-led coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, which marked the end of the US military mission against Daesh in Iraq.

“I said, take a little longer. Take everyone. We left all of the equipment, if you remember, in Afghanistan. Everything was left behind,” Trump said.

“I said, ‘I want every screw taken. If there’s a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.’ We took everything,” he added.

He also mentioned the August 2021 attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers.

Trump said he had become acquainted with the families of the US service members killed in the attack and also highlighted those who were seriously wounded.

“What happened to those—to their children should never have been allowed to happen,” he said, adding that 48 wounded service members were severely injured and “never get mentioned.”

Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.

The US military announced on Wednesday that its forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The US-led mission began in 2014 to fight Daesh after the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The US is continuing its counter-Daesh mission in Syria from a headquarters in Jordan.

Trump said the US had entered Iraq to fight the Islamic State and that the group no longer controlled a territorial “caliphate.”

“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” he said.

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