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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

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.

40mm grenade: This is designed to pierce armour and to kill. It can be fired from an automatic grenade launcher, or underslung from a rifle. It has a kill radius of about 5m.

40mm grenade This is designed to pierce armour and to kill. It can be fired from an automatic grenade launcher, or underslung from a rifle. It has a kill radius of about 5m.

40mm grenade This is designed to pierce armour and to kill. It can be fired from an automatic grenade launcher, or underslung from a rifle. It has a kill radius of about 5m.

25mm ammunition: Fired from a chain gun mounted on a Light Armoured Vehicle turret, this contains an explosive incendiary mixture which makes it lethal within a 5m radius when it explodes.

25mm ammunition Fired from a chain gun mounted on a Light Armoured Vehicle turret, this contains an explosive incendiary mixture which makes it lethal within a 5m radius when it explodes.

25mm ammunition Fired from a chain gun mounted on a Light Armoured Vehicle turret, this contains an explosive incendiary mixture which makes it lethal within a 5m radius when it explodes.

60mm mortar: A small bomb fired from a weapon which can be carried over the shoulder to the battleground, then fired from high ground or behind cover. Because of the high trajectory, it can be used to fire over the top of enemy cover, and has a kill range of approximately 20m.

60mm mortar A small bomb fired from a weapon which can be carried over the shoulder to the battleground, then fired from high ground or behind cover. Because of the high trajectory, it can be used to fire over the top of enemy cover, and has a kill range of approximately 20m.

60mm mortar A small bomb fired from a weapon which can be carried over the shoulder to the battleground, then fired from high ground or behind cover. Because of the high trajectory, it can be used to fire over the top of enemy cover, and has a kill range of approximately 20m.

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.