Afghanistan: Bomb Blast Kills 10 Girls

[SheHateMe]

These poor girls, the police are saying they suspect it was a landmine hidden in the field that was planted years ago. The girls were walking through the field, collecting firewood for their village. They were all between the ages of 9-13.

Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily landmined countries in the world despite years of clearance. Many mines are left in rural areas from the 1990s and discovered only when they are triggered accidentally.

source

Just the other day, I was watching a video of some young Muslims detonating stray mines outside of a partially destroyed building. They were on the roofs and balconies of the building as they threw cinderblocks on top of the mines to explode them. There were atleast 6 out there, spread in a pattern and when they showed them sitting there on camera under the rubble and debris, you didn't even realize what it was until they blew it up.

This is also a huge issue in African countries and places like Cambodia. Hundreds of people end up stepping on one of these and they are either blown to bits or maimed.

...And I thought cutting across my neighbors' lawn after I was told not to as a kid was living on the edge.

 

[Doppel]

They are nasty devices, and deaths like this are on the hands of whomever planted them without ensuring sufficient documentation of their location was around for when the conflict ceased.

 

[1prophet]

http://www.theatlantic.com/internat...ghan-toy-that-blows-up-old-land-mines/266094/

http://massoudhassani.blogspot.com/

 

[bigrash]

Sad.

 

[EagleKeeper]

They are nasty devices, and deaths like this are on the hands of whomever planted them without ensuring sufficient documentation of their location was around for when the conflict ceased.

For many, the conflict never ceases.

Or the mine pattern paperwork is destroyed one way or another.

 

[tommo123]

couldn't these be cluster bombs that the US drops?

 

[kage69]

That's horrible, those poor girls and their families.



The UN should be sending trained Gambian rats and those inexpensive DragonFire anti-mine devices to all the necessary hotspots, Afghanistan and Cambodia in particular.

 

[kage69]

couldn't these be cluster bombs that the US drops?

I suppose it's possible, but I think a single cluster bomblet taking out 10 people spread around looking for firewood is unlikely: they're not that big. I think a larger explosive with more metal to send everywhere is probably the culprit.