Nepal

The armed conflict may have been over in 2006,  but 12 years on, children in Karnali Province still bear the brunt. 

A report published by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), Karnali Province, says that children are unsafe due to the remnants of the 10-year-long armed conflict that ended in 2006. 

The report, published on October 29, following an on-site study of the bomb blast in Ranawada village of Tilagufa Municipality-10, Kalikot, says that even after a decade and a half since the end of the conflict, its remnants continue to haunt the people, especially children. Every year, human casualties occur due to unexploded IEDs left in a neglected state.

Pointing to the number of incidents post-conflict, Chief of INSEC Karnali Province Narayan Subedi suggested the local administration and the provincial government should ensure the safety of the people. 

"Since there is a possibility of unexploded particles in the most affected areas," he said, "there is a need to organise a nationwide search and destroy operation." 

The Chief of National Human Rights Commission, Karnali Province, Loknath Bastola, added that it is the state's major responsibility to provide immediate compensation to the incident survivors.

Three-year-old Jharna Thapa and five-year-old Saraswati Rana were killed when an improvised explosive device, believed to be from the time of the armed conflict, went off at Tilagufa Municipality in Kalikot district on October 29. Eight-year-old Kamal Thapa, five-year-old Muskan Thapa and three-year-old Darshana Thapa were injured in the incident. 

- RSS