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Bonn. On Wednesday, an Afghan Welthungerhilfe employee was fatally injured by a mine. The incident took place at around 09.30 hours local time (07.00 German time) in Takhar province.
The agronomist was travelling with several colleagues in two Welthungerhilfe vehicles on the way to study-sites for a rural development project when the first of the two cars was evidently blown up by a booby-trap mine. The three other occupants of the vehicle were also injured, but their injuries are not life-threatening.
As yet, nothing is known about the background to the incident; the police are at the scene and the vehicle involved is being recovered for further investigations.
According to initial findings, the employees observed all Welthungerhilfe's strict security guidelines for Afghanistan, and the local police also provided a so-called "Security Clearance" for the planned route before the start of the journey.
The security situation in the North and East of Afghanistan has deteriorated over recent weeks and months, and it is being intensively monitored by Welthungerhilfe on a continuous basis. The projects are continuing, but the work in the villages is being suspended for the time being over the coming days in order to aid the investigation of the incident. At the present time, Welthungerhilfe is not planning to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Welthungerhilfe has been operating in Afghanistan continuously since 1980. Initially, aid was provided to Afghan refugees on the border with Pakistan, and since 1992 a framework agreement has been in place with the government. More than 100 projects have been carried out since 1980. The main focuses of the work lie in the North and East of the country. The organisation has concentrated on the infrastructure in rural areas, such as the drinking water supply system, irrigation systems and food security, as well as environmental and erosion prevention measures. In addition, it carries out village communal development projects as well as projects for creating alternative sources of income for opium farmers.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
Mourners react as the coffins of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan are driven through the streets of Wootton Bassett, in Wiltshire in southwest England August 21, 2009. Four British soldiers who ...
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