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Two powerful aftershocks hit Afghanistan after earthquakes killed 2,200
Two powerful aftershocks shook eastern Afghanistan in a span of 12 hours, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said, triggering fears of more deaths and destruction on Friday in a region where about 2,200 people died in quakes in four days.
They follow two earthquakes that have already ravaged the South Asian nation, crushed by war, poverty and shrinking aid. The Islamic Emirate estimated 2,205 deaths and 3,640 injuries by Thursday.
A Reuters witness said continuous aftershocks hit the province of Nangarhar and details of the damage were still being collected.
Friday’s earthquake of magnitude 5.4 struck the southeast at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), GFZ said, hours after one late on Thursday night.
The week’s first earthquake of magnitude 6, just minutes before midnight on Sunday, was one of Afghanistan’s deadliest, unleashing damage and destruction in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar when it struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (6 miles).
A second quake of magnitude 5.5 on Tuesday caused panic and interrupted rescue efforts as it sent rocks sliding down mountains and cut off roads to villages in remote areas.
With houses built mostly of dry masonry, stone, and timber, some families preferred to stay in the open rather than return home, as a precaution against aftershocks.
Naqibullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for the health department in Nangarhar province, said the epicentre of Thursday’s earthquake was in the district of Shiwa near the border with Pakistan, and there were some initial reports of damage.
The earlier quakes flattened villages in both provinces, destroying more than 6,700 homes, and rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble on Thursday.
Survivors in the quake-prone region have been left without basic amenities as the United Nations and other agencies warn of a critical need for food, medical supplies and shelter.
The earthquakes mainly happen in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that security risks in Central Asia and developments in Afghanistan are among the primary concerns for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The CSTO is a regional military alliance that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Speaking in Moscow during a meeting with CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov, Lavrov described the region’s security challenges as “central” to the organization’s agenda.
“The problems that are currently among the central ones for the CSTO are new challenges and threats. I am referring to the situation in the Central Asian region of collective security, as well as everything related to what is happening in Afghanistan,” he said.
He praised Masadykov as “one of the leading experts” on Central Asian security, noting that his experience could enhance coordination and increase the effectiveness of allied actions.
Similar to NATO, the CSTO considers an attack on one member state as an attack on all.
Countries in the region have always expressed concern about security threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed these concerns and assured that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against another country.
The Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan has announced that the leader of the Islamic Emirate has approved the establishment of a faculty dedicated to “Prophetic Medicine.”
According to the ministry, this new faculty will play a vital role in advancing medical sciences and training skilled healthcare professionals across the country.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, Noorullah Noori, has announced that the long-delayed demarcation and renovation of border markers along the Afghanistan–Iran frontier will officially begin in the near future.
According to a statement from the ministry, Noori made the remarks during a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Kabul, Ali-Reza Bikdeli.
He assured the Iranian side that the Islamic Emirate is fully committed to accelerating the process and resolving any challenges that may arise during implementation.
In a separate statement, the Iranian Embassy in Kabul said Bikdeli underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation on border issues, describing it as a key factor in strengthening and expanding overall relations between the two countries.
Officials from both sides agreed nearly three months ago to resume the border-marker renovation project, which had remained stalled for the past seven years.
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