Displaying items by tag: explosions

Shortly after UK armed forces minister James Heappey had warned of an imminent terror attack, and had called on those queuing outside Kabul airport to move to safety, two explosions rocked the area on 26 August, leaving a number of casualties and throwing evacuation efforts into more turmoil, days before President Joe Biden's deadline for the USA to leave the country. At least 13 people including children were killed and many others were injured in what Taliban sources described as a suicide attack. Defence secretary Ben Wallace said a ‘better option’ for fleeing Afghans would be to travel across the land border. Christian charity CARE said that the current situation in Afghanistan is a recipe for a human trafficking disaster. Afghan women, fearful of life under new political leadership and aware of attacks on their rights, will want to escape oppression and may, in desperation, turn to illegal means of leaving the country. Many who are promised a better life will end up falling into modern slavery, whether that means commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or domestic servitude. See

Recently three huge blasts and a series of smaller explosions from a military base damaged or destroyed almost all homes and buildings in Bata, a city of over 250,000 people. The first explosion was so big that people were shouting ‘This is a bomb, this is a bomb!’ UN satellite images suggest at least 243 structures were completely destroyed and nearby buildings severely damaged, with scorched vegetation. Pray for the residents of Bata trying to come to grips with the full scale of a disaster that killed at least 105 people and injured over 600. 482 people have been discharged from hospitals but many remain untreated. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Pray for aid to be released to the homeless who once lived in the destroyed blocks of housing. The devastation was caused by poorly-managed stores of explosives. But no matter the cause, the road to recovery will be long and daunting.

As Yemen prepares to move forward with a power-sharing government, two explosions at Aden airport were designed to annihilate the new government officials disembarking from their plane. Saudi Arabia had brokered a peace deal between Houthi rebels (controlling much of northern Yemen) and the Yemeni government. The explosions also threatened the UN effort for a nationwide cease-fire to prevent the coronavirus spreading. It did not injure any of the new cabinet, but killed 26 people and injured 50 more; the death toll is expected to climb as more victims succumb to their injuries. The government had just forged an alliance with southern separatists. This latest attack threatens a very tenuous situation plagued by years of war and hunger. An explosion was also heard at the presidential palace where cabinet members, the prime minister, and the Saudi ambassador had been taken for safety. Pray for officials to apprehend all those responsible, and for a successful resolution of the conflict between the Hadi government and Houthi rebels.