Freezing weather kills 104 people in Afghanistan in 2 weeks

Kabul, Jan 23 (IANS) The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on Monday confirmed that at least 104 people, including women and children, have died in the past two weeks amid the freezing weather and heavy snowfall.

Addressing the media, spokesman for the Ministry of Natural Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs Shafiullah Rahimi said the fatalities were reported from Takhar, Badakhshan, Nimroz, Kandahar, Laghman, Ghazni, Uruzgan, Jawzjan, Sari Pul, Faryab, Paktika, Balkh, Samangan, Bamyan, reports Xinhua news agency.

In cash-strapped Afghanistan where there is no heating system, people often use coal, wood or liquid gas to keep themselves warm, which in many cases claims human lives due gas leakage or carbon monoxide.

Extreme cold weather and snowfall have swept through parts of Afghanistan since the first week of January where the temperature fell down to minus 30 degrees Celsius in some areas of the country.

Last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan had said that livestock losses due to the cold weather posed a further risk to families with more than 21 million people urgently needing food and agricultural support.

Half of Afghanistan's population is experiencing acute hunger, and while conflict has subsided, violence, fear and deprivation remain, according to a recent UN report.