Afghanistan suffered a natural disaster early Thursday when melting snow triggered a landslide in a remote mountain area. The resulting landslide ten people and destroyed hundreds of homes in North-Eastern Afghanistan.
A mountain lake in Panjshir, a province known for its snowcapped peaks north of Kabul, overflowed and sent water and mud cascading over Peshghor village.
Villagers were seen using shovels and other tools were desperately searching for survivors in the mud and debris as rescue teams were deployed to the area,
A spokesman for the disaster management ministry, Omar Mohammadi said….
“We have deployed everything at hand to help the people. Some people are missing.”
Although Afghanistan is mostly known for violent extremism with conflicts between the government, Taliban and the Islamic state, Disasters such as avalanches and flash floods often hit in mountainous areas of the country as the snow melts in the spring and summer.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who is in Brussels for the NATO summit, said he was “deeply saddened” by the latest natural disaster.
He noted that “a number of people have lost their lives” in the landslide, and has ordered “relevant authorities to provide urgent assistance to the affected people”.
The landslide comes as the country is in the grip of a nearly 17-year war between Afghan security forces and the Taliban.
Despite peace overtures from the Afghan government, the Taliban have refused to come to terms and have carried out suicide attacks against both government installations and the civilian population. The Islamic state freshly dislodged out of Iraq and most parts of Syria have joined the fray as they are looking for a foothold in Afghanistan.
Most of Afghanistan was controlled by the Taliban prior to the US invasion of 2001 which defeated the Taliban and sent them into hiding. The Taliban were attacked by the US for refusing to give up Osama Bin Ladin and the Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Since the United States declared an end to active combat and pulling most of its troops out of the country, the Taliban have grown bolder, increasing in strength and numbers and carrying out attacks at will to the dismay of the Afghanistan Government.