During its 10 years in Afghanistan, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) trained on five firing ranges in the Bamyan province. But the United Nations says they were not cleaned up properly, and links nine explosions resulting in the deaths or injuries of 17 civilians to the firing ranges. The Defence Force disputes this, saying there is no direct evidence linking it to any of the incidents. The people of Afghanistan just want the firing ranges cleaned up, so they are no longer dangerous to the children, shepherds and other locals who walk across the abandoned ranges every day.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on America in 2001, New Zealand joined an international coalition of forces in Afghanistan, initially to fight the Taleban and Al Qaeda militants, and then to help the people of Afghanistan rebuild.
New Zealand was assigned the central province of Bamyan, considered one of the most peaceful parts of the country. Its job was to lead a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to help rebuild infrastructure and restore security.
The Bamyan district is one of seven districts in the province. While the NZPRT had outposts in other districts, the Bamyan District was where most New Zealand soldiers who came to Afghanistan spent most of their time, at the main headquarters, known as Kiwi Base.
In 2013, a local NGO cleaned up the largest range, known by the Defence Force as Beersheba/Range 2. A clearance certificate shows 0.297 square kilometres of the range is cleared including the removal of 540 40mm grenades used by NZ soldiers.
In 2018, a survey of the former Beersheba range found that the range remained hazardous, with 40mm grenades and mortars among the dangers still there. The UN survey found that 18 square kilometres needed to be cleared, including the 0.297 square kilometres cleared in 2013. Even though it had been cleared once, the UN believes it needs to be done again because unexploded devices have likely washed down from the hills.
The 2018 survey also looked at the four other ranges. While one of them, the Yakawlang Range, was deemed safe, the UN believes all the other ranges need clearing. Until then, they remain dangerous to locals.
BEERSHEBA RANGE 18 square kilometres yet to be cleared INCIDENTS February 2013: A 15-year-old boy and his 18-year-old brother are injured while collecting firewood. April 2014: Seven children, four girls and three boys, aged 5-12, are killed while playing with a device picked up from the range.
DRAGON VALLEY RANGE 10 square kilometres yet to be cleared
INCIDENTS March 2004: A 15-year-old boy is killed while tending animals. April 2004: An 18-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man are injured while tending animals. September 2004: A 58-year-old man is injured while collecting wood.
ALAMEIN RANGE 6.5 square kilometres yet to be cleared
INCIDENTS June 2010: A 13-year-old boy is injured while collecting wood or water. February 2017: A 41-year-old man is injured while carrying out household work.
ROMERO RANGE 4.4 square kilometres yet to be cleared
INCIDENTS February, 2011: A child is killed and another one seriously injured. The ages and sexes of the children, and what they were doing at the time are unknown. March, 2012: A 13-year-old boy is killed and a seven-year-old boy is injured while collecting scrap metal.
In April 2014, seven children from a village near the Beersheba Range were killed in a massive explosion. It is believed one of the children picked up an unexploded ordnance from the range and carried it back towards the village. The children were gathered around it in a field when it somehow went off - perhaps one of them dropped it. An eighth child survived the blast and ran scared from the scene - it took his family three days to find him.
Five of the seven children killed in April 2014
Five of the seven children killed in April 2014
The Defence Force used a variety of ammunition and ordnance on the ranges. Most of the time, of course, the devices would explode as intended, but on occasions, for a variety of reasons, they wouldn’t go off like they should when they’re fired.
The Defence Force says rules and policies required that when an ordnance didn’t explode, soldiers were to inform the PRT headquarters which would dispatch a specialist team to deal with it.
But the United Nations points out that sometimes it’s difficult or impossible to recover ordnance - sometimes because it has buried in snow or soil.
Of the devices NZ soldiers used at the ranges, three in particular are considered most dangerous because they are High Explosives. When they fail to explode as intended, they remain an extreme hazard. In Afghanistan, victims have included shepherds who have inadvertently stood on them, or curious children who have picked them up and then dropped them when told it’s dangerous.
This is a list of ammunition and ordnance the Defence Force says it used at the firing ranges. The High Explosives are the most dangerous, while the Small Arms ammunition are generally not considered dangerous if left behind on the range.
In the “other” category, some of the devices might be dangerous, if they haven’t exploded, and depending on the circumstances. For instance, if the smoke grenades were set off in a confined space, they may cause burns or smoke inhalation.
This list of ordnance and ammunition is from a list of what the Defence Force says was used on the ranges by the PRT. High Explosives were only used at two ranges, Beersheba and Dragon Valley, it says.
For six years, locals have been asking for the firing ranges to be cleaned up so they are no longer dangerous to children, shepherds, and others who cross them. The Defence Force says that when the PRT left, the ranges were cleaned up to a standard that was in place at the time. But it says it “takes its responsibility to ensure areas used by New Zealand forces are free of unexploded ordnance very seriously” and is in talks with the Afghan Government to carry out a clean-up. It has set aside $10 million to do so.
Locals say this cannot happen soon enough - before anyone else is killed or injured.
KABUL — An amputee undergoes rehabilitation with his new limb at the Kabul prosthetic clinic of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
KABUL — Patients at the clinic rest between exercise sessions.
KABUL — Patients at the clinic rest between exercise sessions.
KABUL — A wheelchair-bound engineer manufactures a prosthetic component. Most of the staff working at the clinic have suffered injury or amputation. The clinic has a policy of employing disabled people to help them find meaningful employment.
KABUL — A woman fashions the mould for a patient’s custom-made prosthetic.
KABUL — A shepherd who lost a leg to a landmine begins the process of being fitted for his new limb.
KABUL — An orderly makes markings on the shepherd’s stump for the mould.
KABUL — A plaster cast is made of the patient’s stump. From the plaster a mould will be manufactured.
KABUL — Dr Alberto Cairo, Head of the ICRC’s Kabul prosthetic clinic. A native of Italy, he has been in the role for almost 30 years.
KABUL — Dr Alberto and a colleague talk to a young girl about her prosthetic.
KABUL — A young girl recently fitted with a prosthetic listens to Dr Alberto talking about how it fits.
KABUL — Stuff Circuit journalists Paula Penfold and Eugene Bingham look on as Dr Alberto and a colleague supervise patients trying out their new prosthetics.
KABUL — A technician fashions components for a prosthetic. The clinic has its own workshop to make the prosthetics, importing as little as possible.
KABUL — Family members wait for relatives inside the clinic.
KABUL — Family members wait for relatives inside the clinic.
KABUL — A street vendor in the streets of the Afghanistan capital, Kabul.
KABUL — School children wait outside a blast wall.
KABUL — A young man carries bread in a Kabul street.
KABUL — Our driver navigates the streets of the capital. Traffic is busy all day, and the sound of horns fill the air.
KABUL — Patrick Fruchet, head of the United Nations Mine Action Service office in Afghanistan.
KABUL — A security guard with a mirror scans underneath our car for explosives, a standard procedure which happens every time we return to our accommodation
KABUL — Sunrise on the tarmac at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul.
KABUL — An aerial view leaving Kabul in the early morning.
BAMYAN — It’s a 30 minute flight from Kabul to Bamyan, over the Hindu Kush Mountains. It’s too dangerous to make the three hour journey by car as the Taliban control the roads.
BAMYAN — Sunrise, looking toward the famous Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
BAMYAN — A boy harvests potatoes. Potatoes are the principal crop in Bamyan.
BAMYAN — Potato crops being harvested in Bamyan before the winter comes.
BAMYAN — Boys harvest potatoes. Potatoes are the principal crop in Bamyan.
BAMYAN — Boys harvest potatoes. Potatoes are the principal crop in Bamyan.
BAMYAN — Dr Habib Habibi, head of the Danish Demining Group in Bamyan (DDG).
BAMYAN — Cracked windscreens are a common sight here, with rough roads taking their toll on local cars.
BAMYAN — Passing through the outskirts of Bamyan town. Motorbikes are a common site on the roads.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — An example of the munitions found in this battlefield, a mountainous area which was a stronghold for the mujahideen, and was bombed by the Soviets.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Paula channels Zero Dark Thirty.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Some of the recent ordnance found by the DDG.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Some of the recent ordnance found by the DDG.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Female deminers work in rugged terrain 30 minutes from the centre of Bamyan, carefully sweeping the land for unexploded bombs.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — The view from the battlefield. During the Soviet-Afghan War, mujahideen fighters were based in this area. The Soviet forces engaged them with artillery and from the air.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — A female deminer works in the foreground. The large white marker it the distance marks the spot where three children were killed by an unexploded ordnance in May, 2019.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — The process of searching for munitions begins with this large metal detector. The white markers in the hill behind indicate the land on that side is safe - blue equals potential danger.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — The team begins their sweep. It’s a painstaking process. The blue ropes mark the perimeter of the area to be swept.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Once the first sweep has detected the points of interest, a second scan takes place to pinpoint the target.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Next comes the delicate task of unearthing what lies beneath and discovering what set off the detectors.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — In this case, it was a piece of shrapnel - harmless.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — A member of the all-female demining team. Bamyan is the first province to have a female demining team.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — A member of the all-female demining team. Bamyan is the first province to have a female demining team.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Members of the demining team carrying out their tasks. Each has a specific role to play, and it requires constant communication to make sure everything is done safely.
FORMER SOVIET BATTLEFIELD, BAMYAN — Even though it is hot work in the mountains, everyone must wear heavy protective equipment to keep safe in case of an explosion.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — Dr Habibi and the Stuff Circuit team discuss a clearance certificate showing some of the range has been cleared, though most of it remains dangerous, according to the UN.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — A boy crosses the range with a load of brushwood. Even though they know it’s dangerous, the boys say they need to collect the wood for cooking and heating.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — A boy crosses the range with a load of brushwood. Households in the villages surrounding the range are poor and many cannot afford electricity or gas so rely on the firewood.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — A local boy explains why he still goes on the range even though he knows it’s dangerous.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — Paula and Dr Habibi talk, sitting on the concrete slab built by the Defence Force at the firing range.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — A wide view of the range from the concrete slab at the start of the range.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE, BAMYAN — The young foragers make their way home through the valley. It’s about a kilometre from the villages to the range, it’s a formidable distance.
BAMYAN — Foragers of another kind, these children are dismayed at having been spotted after a scrounging expedition at the local dump.
BAMYAN — Kids are intrigued by westerners and their camera gear.
BAMYAN — A family in transit. Seeing several people on a motorbike is a not-uncommon view.
BAMYAN — Daily chores can involve a long hike.
BAMYAN — Caves dot the landscape all around Bamyan.
BAMYAN —Houses made of mud bricks blend into the hillside.
BAMYAN — Children playing with the most basic toys - even an old tyre can amuse for hours.
BAMYAN — Local men transporting gas canisters on their motorbike with build-on trailer.
BAMYAN —Younger kids stand round as an older hand gets the fire started.
BAMYAN — Children play by the roadside - including with the ever-popular tyre toy.
BAMYAN — Potato harvesting continues into the late afternoon, in this case helped out by cattle.
BAMYAN — A proud local rides his donkey home.
BAMYAN — Village life on the outskirts of Bamyan town, with an incredible view of the mountains.
BAMYAN — Local children eating bread, a staple of the local diet.
BAMYAN — Local children eating bread, a staple of the local diet.
BAMYAN — A local rooster surveys his kingdom.
BAMYAN — Paula and our translator Abdullah (right) talk with Alidot about his cousin who was a survivor of a blast which killed seven children in 2014.
BAMYAN — The entrance to a cave where Alidot’s cousin, Mohammad, hid for three days, terrified, after the deadly explosion.
BAMYAN — Two local girls look unimpressed by our presence.
BAMYAN — Family members of the seven children killed in the explosion in April 2014.
BAMYAN — Mohammad was the sole survivor of the explosion that claimed the lives of seven of his friends and siblings.
BAMYAN — Mohammad, the survivor of the explosion that killed seven children, and one of his relatives, who also lost children in the blast.
BAMYAN — Meeting Mohammad was a reminder of the lives lost in the explosion, caused when one of the children picked up a device from the firing range and brought it back towards the village to play with it.
BAMYAN — Foreigners are a real source of fascination and amusement for these locals.
BAMYAN — Foreigners are a real source of fascination and amusement for these locals.
BAMYAN — Dusk falls over the village.
BAMYAN — A local woman makes a fire outside her cave dwelling on the outskirts of Bamyan town.
BAMYAN — The end of a long day draws near as workers head home from the potato fields.
BAMYAN — This flag marks the location of the explosion which killed the seven children.
BAMYAN — The memorial sight in the morning light.
BAMYAN — Baskul, the mother of two children killed in the explosion and her son, Alidot. Baskul lost Hussain, who was 12, nine-year-old Asadullah.
BAMYAN — Abdullah, Paula and Eugene interview three mothers about the loss of their children.
BAMYAN — Paula Penfold interviewing the three mothers who lost seven children in the explosion in April 2014.
BAMYAN — Eugene Bingham listens during interview with three mothers about the loss of their children.
BAMYAN — Raina who lost three children in the explosion in April, 2014, five-year-old Suraya, eight-year-old Shafiqa, and Amina, 12.
BAMYAN — The view from the family home.
BAMYAN — A local child munches on some naan bread.
BAMYAN —The hill top cemetery where the seven children killed in the April 2014 explosion are buried.
BAMYAN —The view towards Bamyan town from cemetery.
BAMYAN — Mothers grieve at the cemetery. Flags mark the graves of the children.
BAMYAN — Baskul, who lost two children in the explosion prays at their gravesite.
BAMYAN — Tohira who lost two children, five-year-old Laila and Hussain, 11, grieves at the cemetery, with one of her other children.
BAMYAN — Raina, the mother of three children killed in the blast, sits quietly at the cemetery.
BAMYAN — Baskul and Tohira, with one of Tohira’s other children, at the cemetery.
BAMYAN — The rocky ground of the cemetery which is a shrine for the seven children killed in the April 2014 blast.
BAMYAN — The mothers return to life in the village.
BAMYAN — Khaliq, who was injured when an unexploded ordnance blew up while he was collecting wood on the Defence Force range in 2013.
BAMYAN — Khaliq shows us the wound inflicted by the explosion in 2013.
BAMYAN — Mr Hashimi, a former leader of the Sang Chaspan village shura (council), who complained about the firing range in 2013 after the accident that injured Khaliq and his brother.
BAMYAN — Meeting with the local elders to discuss their joint letter calling for the firing ranges to be cleared.
BAMYAN — Local elders concerned about the firing ranges.
BAMYAN — A local elder concerned about the firing ranges.
BAMYAN — Local elders concerned about the firing ranges.
BAMYAN — Shirzad, a local elder who has been active in trying to draw attention to the danger on the firing ranges.
BAMYAN — Eugene Bingham and Paula Penfold discuss documents they’ve obtained about the firing ranges and the danger left behind after New Zealand withdrew from Afghanistan in 2013.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE 2: This firing range in the Dragon Valley outside of Bamyan town was used for testing and training with high explosives.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE 2: Painted markers put in place at one of the former NZDF firing ranges by the DDG in 2018. The blue side indicates potential danger.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE 2: Markers stretch into the hillside at this former firing range in the Dragon Valley.
FORMER NZDF FIRING RANGE 2: Paula Penfold during filming at the former firing range in the Dragon Valley.
BAMYAN — A herd of goats and their shepherd near the former firing range in the Dragon Valley. A shepherd was killed on this range in 2004.
BAMYAN — Goats area common sight in Bamyan.
BAND-E AMIR — A man on a donkey crosses the vast landscape in Bamyan province.
BAND-E AMIR — A stunning national park located in the Bamyan Province of central Afghanistan.
BAND-E AMIR — A series of six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine, a mineral deposit. The lakes are situated in the Hindu Kush mountains at approximately 3000m of elevation.
BAND-E AMIR — The lakes are a popular holiday destination for locals in summer.
BAND-E AMIR — Water spills over the edge of a lake at the national park.
BAMYAN — The wide open steppes of central Bamyan. You can see the entrance arch to Band-e Amir national Park in the distance.
BAMYAN — Rusting reminders of the Soviet occupation of the 1980s.
BAMYAN — Rusting reminders of the Soviet occupation have been given a colourful paint job by the locals in the last two years.
BAMYAN — Donkeys are a common sight around Bamyan.
BAMYAN — Dusk falls on the Buddhas on the outskirts of Bamyan town.
BAMYAN — Night comes to Bamyan town.
BAMYAN — Night comes to Bamyan.
BAMYAN — Dusk falls on a local cemetery. You can see a large Afghan flag etched into the distant hills.