KABUL - At least twelve children have died in the past week due to the cold weather that has gripped Kabul in the past week.
The children, who had all been living in displaced persons camps in the capital, were among thousands who have sought sanctuary in Kabul in recent months due to the ongoing violence around the country.
The majority of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in tents and poorly built mud huts have no money to buy fuel.
One IDP, Khan Bahadur, lost his nephew this past week due to the cold weather. 
“We had no fuel during that night, the room was very cold, the child was very sick and later he died,” said Bahadur.
“I had no money to hire a taxi and send him to hospital, he died in front of my eyes and I couldn’t do anything for him,” said the boy’s father, Abdul Rashid.
“32 members of our family were killed, we had no option except to leave our home,” said an IDP from Helmand, Allah Dad.
More than 10,000 IDPs are currently being housed in Kabul after fleeing violence in their home provinces.
They are settled in at least 40 different locations in Kabul.
“We were not expecting that the number of IDPs would increase this much, there is a possibility that these figures could further increase if the war and violence does not stop,” said Hafiz Miakhail, media advisor to Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations.
A recent UN report documented a 66 percent increase in the number of IDPs in 2016 compared to 2015.  (Tolonews)