Local sources from Kandahar province report that in one of the migrant camps in the Takht-e Pol district of this province, two children and a woman died due to hunger and illness.
At least two sources have stated that these individuals died on the evening of Friday, October 31, in the “Anzargi” area of the Takht-e Pol district in Kandahar.
The source further emphasized that the family of the deceased children had been stranded at the Chaman border for 15 days and finally entered Afghanistan through Spin Boldak, but their children died from hunger.
The source added that according to available information, the children were two and three months old.
The source clarified: “The woman who died was also severely ill due to being stranded on the other side of the border.”
Additionally, some media outlets have quoted the head of the government’s refugee affairs in Kandahar, confirming the deaths of these two children. The report states that this incident highlights the increasing poverty and acute food insecurity among returnees.
Meanwhile, UNICEF, or the United Nations Children’s Fund representative in Afghanistan, has stated that the country is facing one of the most severe nutrition crises globally, with 3.5 million children suffering from acute malnutrition.
In late September of this year, the Secretary-General of the United Nations warned in a report that approximately 9.5 million people in Afghanistan are struggling with severe food insecurity, with 1.6 million of them in an emergency situation.
The United Nations indicates that the food crisis in Afghanistan has been exacerbated by the forced return of migrants and cuts to financial aid, leaving millions at risk of hunger and malnutrition.
Human rights organizations and international bodies emphasize the worsening poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity among returning migrants, while Iran and Pakistan continue to detain and deport hundreds of Afghan migrants daily.
According to statistics from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, from April to November of this year, 2 million and 78 thousand Afghan migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan.
