Ex-Afghan Lawmaker Says 8 Children Died Of Hunger In Minority-Populated Western Kabul

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2021) Eight children have died of hunger in western Kabul mainly populated by the Hazara minority, former Afghan lawmaker Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq said on Sunday.

"Poverty and hunger have killed eight children in western Kabul," Mohaqeq wrote on Facebook.

The Taliban (banned in Russia as a terrorist organization) do not ensure the adequate living standard for the people after coming to power, the politician added, calling on the international community to help Hazaras and Shia people in Afghanistan.

Hazara people, who practice Shia islam, make up 9% of Afghanistan's 40 million-strong population.

According to Amnesty International, they have been severely persecuted by the Taliban in the past.

International organizations, chief among them the UN, have been sounding the alarm over the deterioration of living conditions in Afghanistan since the Taliban swept to power in mid-August. Large amounts of international aid ceased and Afghan foreign assets were frozen, drying up the flow of cash and supplies to the country and leaving the economy on the precipice.