Toronto, 10 August – Save the Children is extremely concerned for around 36,000 children displaced by clashes in Afghanistan’s northeastern city of Kunduz.
Save the Children staff in Kunduz said at least 60,000 people have fled their homes amid gunfire, airstrikes and explosions after conflict escalated in Kunduz over the weekend. Families are living outside in the open under tarpaulins, without food or water.
Children injured by airstrikes and shelling have no access to proper medical care, the agency warned. Aid agencies are currently unable to access the displaced families with food or medicines.
The UN said today that at least 27 children have been killed in Afghanistan in just three days.
Christopher Nyamandi, Country Director of Save the Children Afghanistan, said:
“Our staff in Kunduz tell us the situation is becoming more and more desperate. Families have been forced to flee their homes and gather in safer areas of the city, where they are living out in the open under tarpaulins with the sound of gunfire and explosions all around. Children injured in the blasts have no access to medical care. They have nothing to eat. They are hungry and traumatized.”
“Airstrikes are ongoing in Kunduz, putting even more children’s lives at risk and causing a great deal of distress to families living outside. Basic services like water, healthcare and schools have shut down. Markets have been destroyed and are now mostly closed, leaving families without anywhere to get food.
“A war zone is no place for a child, and we’re extremely concerned for the safety of children living without shelter, food or basic medical care. We urge all parties to put an end to the violence and protect civilian lives, especially those of children – and respect the obligations under international humanitarian law. All efforts must be made to come to an enduring peace settlement so that Afghan children, who have already lived their entire lives through war, can grow up in a country free of violence and hunger.”
We are calling on Canada to step up its humanitarian and development support in light of the US withdrawal and strong ties to the country through Canada’s role in the war and large Afghan diaspora community.
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