Afghan generation knows only conflict as war turns 18
Afghanistan's war cost 13-year-old shoe shiner Hameedullah his education. Poverty forced Sabir, 11, to flee home and sell dried fruits on Kabul's streets. Niyamathullah, 9, hangs out in a park, looking for work.
Such is the lot of many a child in Afghanistan, which this week passes another sombre milestone. On Monday, the conflict turned 18, meaning every single Afghan child now has known only war.
"Peace is like a dream to us in Afghanistan," said Mohammad Mobin, a 17-year-old Kabul high schooler. "Afghanistan can develop only if we have peace."
On October 7, 2001, the United States launched air strikes against Afghanistan, following the September 11 attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda that killed nearly 3,000 people in the US.
The Taliban, who had refused to hand over Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, were toppled within weeks, but the ensuing insurgent conflict has dragged on ever since and become the longest war in US history.
Violence has only worsened in recent years, disproportionately impacting children.
"Since we were born, we have had no peace in our country, it has only been fighting and conflict," said Sayed Ibrahim, an 18-year-old medical student in Kabul.
The UN published...