HERAT - At a UN-backed event in the western province of Herat, community leaders discussed improving ways to protect children from the impact of the armed conflict in Afghanistan.

Thousands of children in Afghanistan have been killed, injured and displaced during the last decade. In 2017 alone, 861 children were killed and 2,318 injured during the conflict, according to UNAMA’s latest Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict.

Speaking during the one-day symposium, community leaders from districts around Herat’s capital discussed the current situation and underlined the need to prioritize efforts in marking and clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war that have contributed to an increase in child casualties.

“We are appealing to local authorities and the international community to help us clear landmines and other explosives,” said Mohammad Faqiri, a religious scholar from Herat.

Herat, a mostly rural province that borders Iran to the west and Turkmenistan to the north, has seen the security situation deteriorate in recent years due to an increase in armed conflict.

The one-day event, along with a mine-awareness event at a local high school, were organized by UNAMA’s Herat regional office as part of a country-wide outreach initiative aimed at creating platforms for local communities to engage in dialogue on key issues.