42 children injured in Afghanistan blast, UN demands investigation

A grenade blast near a school in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has left 42 children seriously injured. The UN political mission (UNAMA) confirmed the incident on Tuesday, August 18, saying the injured children were aged between 9 and 14.

According to local sources and Afghan media, the number of children injured in the explosion on Monday, August 17, could be as high as 50. The UN has condemned the attack and called for a swift and independent investigation.

The incident occurred in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood of Kabul, a predominantly Hazara Shia Muslim area. The Hazara community, which makes up about 9 percent of Afghanistan's population, has long been targeted by Sunni extremist groups such as ISIS and other militants.

In 2021, multiple bomb blasts at a school in the same area killed a number of students, most of them teenage girls.

UN Independent Investigator for Afghanistan Richard Bennett described the attack as heinous, expressing outrage that the Hazara community in Kabul had once again been targeted. He called for an impartial investigation to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed that the organisation has begun work to determine the exact cause and circumstances of the blast.

The attack also highlights the dire state of Afghanistan's education system under the Taliban government, where girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade. Additionally, nearly 600,000 of the 900,000 children who recently returned to the country remain out of school. While the UN has extended support amid the severe financial crisis, bringing the situation under control remains challenging.