Locals say MOAB caused no harm to human health, crops

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Local officials and residents say GBU-43/B or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb which was dropped in Momandara area of Achin district of eastern Nangarhar caused no harm to human health and farms.

They say agriculture activities and people’s life has been normal in the area and there is no sign of damages caused by the so called mother of all bombs (MOAB).

In March 2017, US forces dropped the bomb on a number of muddy houses in Asadkhel Valley of Achin district.

Afghan and foreign officials at the time had said the bomb targeted Daesh militants and killed 95 of the rebels.

After the bombing, a number of national and international news agencies reported that crops did not grow in the area and people there contracted diseases.

Nangarhar Governor Shah Mahmod Miakhel told Pajhwok Afghan News that he facilitated a National Security Council (NSC)’s team to visit the area and investigate the issue.

“NSC team visited the area last week and their report shows that crops can grow even in areas 100 meters away from the blast site and local people have a normal life,” he said.

Some diseases which affected people also existed in other areas and they had no linkl with the blast, he said.

Local people also say they did not see any signs MOAB effects in the area.

Raz Gul, a resident of the area who lives a few hundred meters away from the incident area, said only a few muddy houses were destroyed in the area where the bomb was dropped.

“The people of the area where the bomb was dropped were very poor, they had displaced to cities and other areas due to Daesh, They have no problems to live there but they are not able reconstruct their houses,” he said.

Nangarhar public health officials also say they did not register any diseases in the area that could have caused by the bomb.

Zahir Adil, spokesman of Nangarhar public health department, said that local healthcare centers and Jalalabad Zonal Hospital had not registered any diseases caused by the bomb.

However, a number of provincial representatives a few days ago said that people in the area where the MOAB was dropped had contracted different diseases.

Mds/ma

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