Afghan officials said yesterday that two girls' schools have been destroyed in Afghanistan's western province of Farah.
Provincial council member Shah Mahmood Naeemi was cited as saying, “A female high school was reportedly blown up late Monday night on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Farah after unknown assailants had beaten up the schoolmaster.”
School authorities had already received threats to close the school beforehand, according to Naeemi.
Citing Farah education department head Mohammad Azimi, TOLONews reports that unknown armed men entered Nawdeh Girl’s High School on Monday night and replaced explosives devices inside the building and then exploded the devices.
According to Azimi, the school building was destroyed completely and all the facilities and books were burned.
The school was located on the outskirts of Farah city, about 20 kilometers from the center.
The night before, another female school on the outskirts of the provincial capital was destroyed by unknown gunmen.
At least 2,000 girls were reportedly enrolled in those schools
Local officials believed the Taliban were behind both incidents.
Taliban, however, have not claimed responsibility for the incidents.
According to Gulf Times, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied destroying the schools in Farah, saying the schools were destroyed due to conflicts over “internal appointments by the Education Ministry in the province.”
In late March, the militants reportedly issued a statement on the eve of the beginning of the new educational year in Afghanistan encouraging families to send their school-aged children to regular schools as well as religious educational centers for learning basis issues.
Statistics by the Ministry of Education of Afghanistan show that 3.5 million children are deprived of education and at least 900 schools have remained closed across the country.
