11 IEDs defused in Afghanistan: gov't

18:24, February 21, 2020

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  Poster: 11

  (Produced by Liu Kejun, Wang Zi and Zhang Tianyi)

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  Afghanistan reports first coronavirus case

  File photo: AFPKABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistans Public Health Ministry on Monday confirmed the first case of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country."The first coronavirus case was found in western Herat province. The patient had no direct contact with the public recently," Afghan Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz told reporters here."The first infected person has been isolated," he said.An emergency situation has been announced in the province, 640 km west of Kabul, said the minister, adding an 80-bed isolation ward has been set up in the Herat Regional Hospital in case if any new case was found.The minister said groups for detecting contagious diseases have already been established in the province, bordering Iran.

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  UN: 100,000 civilians casualties in Afghanistan in 10 years

  In this Feb. 11, 2020, photo, national army soldiers stand guard at the site of suicide attack near the military academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo: AP)A United Nations report says Afghanistan passed a grim milestone with more than 100,000 civilians killed or hurt in the last 10 years since the international body began documenting casualties in a war that has raged for 18 years.The report released Saturday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan comes as a seven-day “reduction of violence” agreement between the US and Taliban takes effect, paving the way for a Feb. 29 signing of a peace deal Washington hopes will end its longest war, bring home US troops and start warring Afghans negotiating the future of their country.“Almost no civilian in Afghanistan has escaped being personally affected in some way by the ongoing violence,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the secretary-general’s special representative for Afghanistan. “It is absolutely imperative for all parties to seize the moment to stop the fighting, as peace is long overdue; civilian lives must be protected and efforts for peace are underway.”Last year there was a slight decrease in the numbers of civilians hurt or killed, which the report says was a result of reduced casualties inflicted by the Islamic State affiliate. The group was drastically degraded by US and Afghan security forces as well as the Taliban, who have also bitterly battled the Islamic State.According to the U.N. report, 3,493 civilians were killed last year and 6,989 were injured. While fewer civilians were hurt or killed by Islamic State fighters, more civilians became casualties at the hands of the Taliban and Afghan security forces and their American allies.The report said there was a 21% increase in civilian casualties by the Taliban and an 18% rise in casualties blamed on Afghan security forces and theirUS allies who dropped more bombs last year than in any year since 2013.“All parties to the conflict must comply with the key p...