Recently, nine members of a family, including four girls and two boys, were killed when an explosive device exploded inside a house in Kunduz, a communique issued by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated.

At the same time, three other children were injured, the UN agency’s reported.

One of the children, unknowingly, brought the unexploded device into the home after finding it in the field next to their house, UNICEF Acting Representative in Afghanistan Alice Akunga explained in the statement.

This incident underlines the urgent imperative to clear explosive ordnance and remnants of war, and sensitize communities to the risks, the text stressed.

The rising number of children’s deaths is a stark reminder that children continue to pay the price for a conflict not of their own making, the communique noted.

UNICEF urged all concerned parties to make every effort to protect civilians and children, whose safety must be the primary consideration in all contexts.

Since the Taliban’s takeover, Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis and is in desperate need of international assistance.

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