The number of war victims seeking prosthetic limbs has increased by almost 50 percent in Herat this year as 62 people, including eight children, have been injured in fighting in the province over the last four months, said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Herat. 

“This year, we had a higher number compared to the four months of the last year,” said Sayed Amin Shayan, head of the orthopedic center of the ICRC in Herat. 

Noor Gul, a Herat resident, said he lost his legs in a roadside bomb blast in on the Herat-Kandahar highway a month ago. He said that a lasting peace is his main demand. 

He was driving his car when he hit a roadside bomb and lost both his legs. 

Noor Gul is 28 and has three children and was working as a highway driver to win bread for his family. 

“I have lost my hope. I have lost my both legs. I have three children to feed,” Noor Gul said. 

Noor Gul said that he has lost hope after he lost his legs. 

“How long will this war continue? How long people will people be maimed? There shouldn’t be violence anymore. They should make peace,” he said. 

Abdul Malik, an army soldier, said he lost his leg in a clash in Bala Murghab district in Badghis. He uses a prosthetic limb. He and other persons with disabilities visited an ICRC center that provides prosthetic limbs in Herat city this week. 

“We want peace. We hope that God will help us and bring peace to the country so that we don’t lose youth anymore,” Malik said.

“Peace is good. We are waiting for peace,” said Khalid, a soldier with a disability.