By Stephanie Studer
On September 29, 2020 at least 14 people were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Daikundi province.
The reported casualties were all civilians. Among the deaths were seven women and five children, who were driving on their way to a shrine when the vehicle they were in struck and detonated the bomb. Another three children were also injured in the blast.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the bomb, a statement by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, has blamed the Taliban for the incident.
Taliban and Afghani negotiators have recently been engaging in talks to negotiate an end to the 19 years of war between the two parties.
AOAV recorded an 8% increase in civilian casualties in Afghanistan between 2018 and 2019. In both 2018 and 2019, AOAV reported Afghanistan as the second most dangerous nation in the world to be a civilian.
AOAV condemns the use explosive weapons in populated areas and calls on all states to urgently address the threat of explosive weapons attacks that directly impact civilians.