SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Afghan children died due to chilly and unfriendly weather in the country's northern province of Jawzjan over the past two days, a local official said Thursday.
"As many as 20 innocent children died due to freezing weather in Darzab District, Jawzjan province over the past two days," Abdul Rahman Mahmoodi, deputy to provincial governor, told reporters.
The victims belonged to the Internally Displaced People (IDP) who fled their homes due to clashes between security forces and Taliban insurgents in the neighboring Sari Pul province in recent months, the official added.
More than 1,600 IDP families have been living in schools, mosques, abandoned buildings and even in open areas in the district, Halima Sadaf, a member of the provincial council, told Xinhua earlier on Thursday.
Moreover, she noted that some of the ill-fated children have died due to winter-related diseases.
Over the last two months, 95,000 Afghan families have become internally displaced and been forced to flee their homes as fighting occurred in several Afghan provinces, according to officials.
The mountainous northern Afghan provinces have received its first snowfall since Monday.
