Around 100 people were hit this morning by a series of explosions in the PD16 district – police district 16 – of Kabul, the Afghan capital. The balance is at least six dead, 50 of whom are injured among the wounded. The attack took place just as the peace talks between the US and anti-government forces aimed at ending a war that began on October 7, 2001 are underway in Doha. It was about 9 am, the streets were full of people. In the district where the explosion took place there are military and government buildings, the Afghan Football Federation and the Afghan Cricket Council. It is an area in which there are many schools, in fact many of the victims are children.
The White House condemns “the cruel attack”. Donald Trump announces that the US will maintain a strong intelligence presence in Afghanistan after troop withdrawal. “In Afghanistan we will leave much intelligence, much more than you can imagine… it looks like a laboratory for terrorists… I call it the Harvard of terrorists,” said Trump, citing the prestigious American university.
The chilling balance sheet of civilian victims. “There was a big explosion, then a series of smaller explosions – says Marco Puntin, coordinator of EMERGENCY programs – at our Surgical Center for war victims, we received 45 patients, 22 admitted for surgical treatment while 23 were treated on an outpatient basis. Unfortunately, two of these died … one of them was a child. Among the patients received today there are 17 minors. And there are still patients coming. “According to the latest UNAMA report, in the first three months of 2019, the war in Afghanistan caused 1,773 civilian casualties, of which 582 children. In these three months, 18 incidents involving educational facilities and 26 involving health facilities have been reported.
The now long “EMERGENCY stay” in Afghanistan. The organization teams founded by Gino Strada have been in Kabul since 2001, with the Surgical Center offering treatment to war victims who, in the first 5 months of 2019, admitted 1,414 patients, 15% of whom are under 14 years old. Every day, in our hospital, 9 new patients, victims of the endless war arrive: 56% of them are victims of firearms, 32% of shrapnel and mines.
