LocationsSaving a Family From Disaster!
June 18, 2026
One day, Abdul Khaliq, who lives in Ghulam Bay village, Baghlan Province, decided to rebuild part of his house.
Heavy rains had caused part of the building to collapse, so Abdul Khaliq decided to do the necessary repairs. Workers arrived and began digging the foundation for a wall. The work went on for a while before a worker’s pick struck something hard and metallic.
At first, they assumed it might be a large rock. But once the soil was removed, they discovered something far more concerning: an unexploded artillery shell.
Approximately half an hour after the alert, the MCPA-QRT-01 (Demining Quick Response Team), supported by the UNDP-implemented PAIDAAR joint project funded by STFA, arrived at the site. First, they evacuated all individuals from the area, and then initiated a technical investigation.
UNDP Afghanistan
During the investigation, they discovered dozens of unexploded ordnances—not just one, but 25 rounds of 122-millimeter artillery shells from previous conflicts, buried beneath the soil. This meant that a single detonation could have destroyed the entire house and the surrounding area.
The ordnance were probably relics of the war during the Soviet occupation of the 1980s.
The demining team carefully located all the shells under Abdul Khaliq’s house, and transported and then safely disposed of them at a CDS (Central Disposal Site).
As a result of this operation, (8) workers and (16) members of one family were directly saved from the risk of death.
Since the 1970s, Afghanistan has been wracked by conflict, from the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, through civil war, and then the deployment of NATO forces in the 2000s and their battles with insurgent forces. As a result, unfortunately, Afghanistan is littered with left-over ordnance.
UNDP Afghanistan
In order to mitigate explosive hazard risks within the selected areas, UNDP deploys QRTs, which are agile teams of five people with survey, explosive ordnance risk education (EORE), explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and victim data collection capacity. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) is also being provided to women, men, girls and boys in communities identified as high risk to be impacted by the presence of explosive hazards in the project area through designated specialised teams engaged for the purpose.
These activities are critical to ensure mine risks are managed before civil works start in earnest as part of the PAIDAAR joint project.
UNDP Afghanistan
In another incident, the Demining Quick Response team received a report via the Directorate of Mine Action Coordination (DMAC) Office (MAPA) Emergency Hotline. The report, submitted by a resident of Nahrin District, stated that explosive ordnance were being stored in a junk shop in the local market.
The team immediately travelled to the area. When they arrived, they went straight to the market and found a scrap metal and junk shop. The owner, who was working in the shop alongside his son, gladly showed the team two unexploded shells, not believing that it was a serious matter.
The team searched the shop from top to bottom, however, and found stacks of dangerous unexploded ordnance piled among old, rusting pieces of metal. In all, dozens of different explosive ordnance were found scattered throughout the shop - items that could have caused a major explosion at any moment if handled carelessly. All the while, families were shopping in the marketplace, unaware that their lives were in danger. After searching the shop, the team safely removed and destroyed the unexploded ordnance.
Explosive remnants of war (ERW) cast a long shadow over Afghanistan, endangering civilians, hindering vital humanitarian aid, and stalling socio-economic progress.
This incident shows that explosive remnants of war (ERWs) ordnance from past wars continues to pose a serious threat to human life—especially when people are rebuilding property, farming, or digging to install infrastructure of any kind. The timely arrival of demining teams can prevent major casualties.