Nearly 500 Children Killed In Afghanistan over Three Year
By Afghanistan International
October 10, 2026
The UN says 1,415 children were killed or wounded in Afghanistan over three years, including 446 killed and 969 injured. The casualties included 1,094 boys, 310 girls and 11 children of unknown sex.
According to the UN secretary-general’s latest report on children and armed conflict, the Taliban recruited and used 557 boys during the same period, including children as young as 12.
Cases of child recruitment increased by 81 per cent compared with the previous reporting period, and all verified cases were attributed to the Taliban.
Around 80 per cent of child casualties were caused by explosive devices. The UN warned that unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war continue to pose a serious threat to children in Afghanistan.
The report verified a total of 4,582 grave violations against children. This represented a 38 per cent decrease compared with the previous reporting period, but the UN stressed that the decline did not indicate an overall improvement in the situation of children.
Most verified violations were attributed to the Taliban, followed by unidentified perpetrators.
Increase in obstruction of humanitarian aid
During the reporting period, 2,241 incidents involving the denial of humanitarian access were recorded, an increase of 189 per cent compared with the previous period. This was the most frequently documented violation.
The report also recorded 338 attacks on schools and hospitals, including 163 attacks on schools and 175 on hospitals.
The UN verified 24 cases of sexual violence against children, involving eight boys and 16 girls.
Seven children, two boys and five girls, were also abducted during the reporting period, with all of those cases attributed to the Taliban.
Restrictions and their impact on children
The report said Taliban restrictions on women and girls, including the ban on girls’ education beyond sixth grade, the morality law and restrictions on women working for humanitarian organisations and the United Nations, had disrupted the delivery of essential services and affected children.
Virginia Gamba, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, called on all parties to take every possible measure to protect children and to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
She also called on the Taliban authorities to lift restrictions on women and girls, align the definition of a child with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and allow the United Nations unhindered access to detention facilities.
During the same period, 576 boys in northern and north-eastern Afghanistan were separated from Taliban ranks and enrolled in reintegration programmes.
