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UN: Afghan Schools, Hospitals Under Threat


 A wounded staff member of Doctors Without Borders, a survivor of the U.S. airstrikes on thee hospital in Kunduz, receives treatment in Kabul on October 6, 2015.
A wounded staff member of Doctors Without Borders, a survivor of the U.S. airstrikes on thee hospital in Kunduz, receives treatment in Kabul on October 6, 2015.

The United Nations says Afghan schools and medical facilities have come under increasing threat, making it harder for children to get access to education and health care.

In a report released on April 18, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, say 257 conflict-related incidents were recorded last year, up from 130 in 2014.

Sixty-three medical personnel were killed or wounded in 2015, most of them in a U.S. air strike on a hospital in the northern city of Kunduz in October. The year before, 25 health workers were killed or wounded.

Sixty-six medical personnel were abducted in Afghanistan in 2015, compared with 31 the previous year, according to the report.

Deaths and injuries among education workers decreased to 26 in 2015 from 37 the year before, but abductions spiked to 49 from 14 in the same period.

The report says violence forced more than 369 schools to close last year, affecting more than 139,000 students and 600 teachers.

Based on reporting by Reuters and Khaama
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