Afghanistan: Nine homeless drug users shot dead in an open area in Kabul

At least nine homeless drug users were shot dead in the Afghan capital, Kabul, according to the reports on February 16. The recent incident shed a light on chronic drug abuse in the world's biggest producer of opium.

The motive behind the Saturday night attack by the unidentified gunmen in Kabul was not known and police said that they have initiated an investigation into the matter. The incident took place when the men were asleep in an open area. A forensic examination was conducted which revealed that they were all drug users, as per the reports.

Ferdaus Faramarz, the spokesperson for Kabul Police said that the shooting took place at the side of the Qrough mountain.

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 2.5 million drug users in Afghanistan: Ministry

Ministry of public health of Afghanistan confirmed that there are at least 2.5 million drug users in Afghanistan with most of them addicted to heroine, as per the reports. The reports confirmed that some 20,000 drug users are homeless, with many having straining relations with residents of some communities.

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Shokoor Haidari, deputy of the ministry's counter drugs department, said that it is a social crisis. Haidari added that the ministry can only treat 40,000 people a year. Afghanistan has been the biggest producer of of opium for years and US spent almost USD 8.9 billion since 2002 to stop the production and trafficking in narcotics.

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(Photo:@moiafghanistan/Twitter)