Dozens of Afghan commandos are being airdropped into a remote mountainous region along the eastern border with Pakistan to help in the race to rescue victims of an earthquake late last week that has claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people, according to Taliban authorities.
The deadly 6.0-magnitude quake that struck the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar late on August 31 also injured thousands as it flattened villages, leaving tens of thousands homeless. A 5.5-magnitude quake on September 2 added to the disaster as crews fought to reach the scene.
Local residents told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that they have no shelter and are living in the open, adding that urgent aid, including food, clean drinking water, and tents, are needed.
Government officials said the commandos were deployed by air in areas where road access had been cutoff by the earthquakes, and that command centers have been set up to coordinate emergency and relief services.
The efforts comes as humanitarian groups warn that a lack of access to hygiene supplies, medical help, and emergency shelters are putting many, especially women and girls, at risk.
"A lack of female aid workers and female doctors also means that women’s and girls’ health and recovery can be significantly delayed and deprioritized, causing long-term problems and permanent harm to them," Sahar Fetrat, a researcher at the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, told RFE/RL.
The Taliban-led government has not been officially recognized by any country besides Russia, although aid groups have attempted to maintain contacts despite barriers put up by the de facto rulers.
Amnesty International has put out a call for "urgent humanitarian aid," but the London-based rights organization also blasted the Taliban for making rescue operations more difficult. It also assailed Pakistan for its forced repatriation of nearly 2 million Afghan refugees, saying it exasperated the woes.
International organizations preparing assistance have made efforts to stress that all aid will go to the victims and not into the hands of the Taliban leaders.
The disaster comes at a time when the impoverished country is struggling with cutbacks in international aid over the Taliban's seizure of power and the return of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries.
A UNICEF spokesman in Kabul said that conditions in the area where the quake hit had exacerbated its impact.
"The villages there are built in a way that the homes are basically in a stepped terrace situation," Salam Al-Janabi told RFE/RL. "It means these homes are toppling on top of each other. And this is why we're seeing such large numbers of casualties."
Al-Janabi said "at the moment you have all UN agencies in Afghanistan surging over there," and that some 600 homes were destroyed.
"Where are these families staying?" he said. "Where are these children staying? Maybe it will be fine for just now to stay under a tent...within the next three weeks it's going to get colder in this area very soon."
Injured survivors are being airlifted from the remote, mountainous region by helicopter. Taliban officials said the terrain made it difficult to get aid and emergency workers to the scene.
Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, with the last one occurring in October 2023. In that case, the death toll rose steadily as emergency work continued. The Taliban gave a final figure of 4,000 dead, although the United Nations said the figure was around 1,500.
The latest quake struck at around 11:45 p.m. on August 31 and was centered some 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, according to the US Geological Survey(USGA).
The USGA said the quake was 8 kilometers deep, a relatively shallow level that often causes greater damage than deeper temblors.
Subsequent aftershocks have also complicated the situation.
