2023 in Afghanistan

Decades:	2000s; 2010s; 2020s; ; ;
See also:	Other events of 2023; List of years in Afghanistan

Events in the year 2023 in Afghanistan.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, by 2022, 97% of Afghans could fall under the poverty threshold, which would plunge the country into a major humanitarian crisis heading into 2023.^[1]

In January 2023, the Taliban officials reported deaths of at least 157 people due to Afghanistan’s harsh winter. The number had doubled in less than a week. The impact was worsened after the Taliban banned female NGO workers. ^[2]

Incumbents[edit]

Photo

Post

Name

Dates

Supreme Leader

Hibatullah Akhundzada

15 August 2021 – present

Acting Prime Minister

Hasan Akhund

7 September 2021 – present

Chief Justice

Abdul Hakim Haqqani

15 August 2021 – present

Haqqani

Yaqoob

Baradar

Deputy Leader

15 August 2021 – present

Baradar

Hanafi

Kabir

Acting Deputy Prime Minister

7 September 2021 – present

Events[edit]

Ongoing[edit]

January[edit]

1 January:
- 2023 Kabul airport bombing: According to the interior minister of the Taliban government, a bombing took place at the military airport of Kabul, causing several casualties.^[3]
- A 4.7 magnitude earthquake is recorded in Jorm, Badakhshan Province.^[4]
- United Nations official Markus Potzel meets Taliban deputy prime minister, Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi, to discuss a ban preventing women from working in non-governmental organizations.^[5]
10 January - 2023 Afghanistan blizzard: A cold wave begins, causing 166 deaths, mostly shepherds and other people living in rural areas.^[6]
11 January - An Islamic State – Khorasan Province suicide bomber kills at least 20 people in Kabul.^[7]

February[edit]

28 February - The Taliban announce that the leader of operations and intelligence of Islamic State – Khorasan Province was killed during a raid in Kabul.^[8]

March[edit]

9 March - Three people, including Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh Province, are killed by an explosion at his office.^[9]
21 March - 2023 Badakhshan earthquake: An earthquake strikes Badakhshan Province, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 300.^[10]
23 March - Three people are killed by heavy snow and rainfall in Afghanistan.^[11]
27 March - Six people are killed and several others are injured when a suicide bomber detonates himself near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Kabul.^[12]

April[edit]

4 April - Six Islamic State members are killed during a raid by the Taliban in Balkh Province.^[13]

May[edit]

21 May - Two people are killed when an MD-530 helicopter crashes into power lines in Samangan Province.^[14]

June[edit]

4 June - Seventy-seven primary school girls are hospitalised after a poison attack on two schools in Sancharak, Sar-e Pol.^[15]
6 June - The deputy governor of Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province and his driver are killed and six civilians injured when a suicide car bomber rams their vehicle in Fayzabad.^[16]
8 June - 2023 Fayzabad mosque bombing: At least 11 people are killed and 30 others are injured by a car bomb outside a mosque in Fayzabad, during a prayer service for the deputy governor of Badakhshan Province who was killed two days ago. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.^[17]
11 June - Three people are killed and three others are injured after border clashes near the North Waziristan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border.

July[edit]

17 July - Three children are killed and two others are injured when a mortar warhead explodes in Dara-i Sufi Payin District, Samangan Province.^[18]
23 July - Flash floods in Kabul, the Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces, have killed at least 31 people, injured 74 others, and left 41 missing in the past three days. Around 250 livestock are also killed.^[19]
26 July - The Taliban orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close despite United Nations concern and rare public protests.^[20]

August[edit]

14 August - At least three people are killed and seven others are injured in an explosion at a hotel in Khost.^[21]

October[edit]

7 October - 2023 Herat earthquakes: At least 2,445 people are killed and 9,240 others are injured when two magnitude 6.3 earthquakes strike Herat Province.^[1]
11 October - A magnitude 6.3 aftershock strikes near Herat, killing at least one person and injuring 65 others. It comes days after two earthquakes of the same magnitude struck the same area and killed thousands.^[22]
15 October -
- Herat Province is struck by another magnitude 6.3 earthquake, killing a person and injuring over 100 others, several days after a series of powerful earthquakes killed over 1,000 people in the province.^[23]
- The Taliban government confirms that it will attend the Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing, China, next week, as the countries form closer economic ties, including the potential construction of a large copper mine in Logar Province, eastern Afghanistan.^[24]

November[edit]

8 November - November 2023 Kabul bombing.^[25]

Sports[edit]

June – Afghan cricket team in Bangladesh 2023^[26]

September-October – Afghanistan at the 2022 Asian Games

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "97 percent of Afghans could plunge into poverty by mid 2022, says UNDP". UNDP. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
^ "Extreme cold kills more than 150 people in Afghanistan, Taliban says". CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ Yawar, Mohammad Yunus; Peshiman, Gibran (2023-01-01). Fullick, Neil; Kim, Coghill (eds.). "Blast outside Kabul's military airport, multiple casualties, interior ministry says". Reuters. Kabul. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
^ "M 4.7 - 36 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan". USGS. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
^ "UN official meets Taliban deputy premier over women NGO ban". Associated Press. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
^ "Afghanistan: Freezing weather kills at least 124 people". BBC News. 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
^ "Afghanistan: Deadly suicide bombing outside foreign ministry". BBC News. 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
^ "ISKP chief killed in Kabul". The Express Tribune. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
^ Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Taliban Governor Of Afghan Province Killed In Blast: Police". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
^ "Earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan kills at least 19 people". BBC News. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
^ "Snowfall, heavy rain in Afghanistan kill at least 3". AP NEWS. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
^ "Six killed in suicide attack near Afghan foreign ministry". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
^ "Taliban raid kills six ISIS members in Afghanistan's Balkh province". Al Arabiya English. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
^ "Afghan ministry says helicopter crash kills 2 crewmembers during patrol in country's north". AP NEWS. 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
^ "Almost 80 schoolgirls poisoned, hospitalised in northern Afghanistan". CNA. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Taliban provincial governor killed in car bomb attack – DW – 06/06/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Afghanistan blast: Taliban officials targeted at mosque prayers". BBC News. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Mine Explosion Kills 3, Injures 2 in Afghanistan's Samangan". Khaama Press. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Heavy rains in Afghanistan and Pakistan unleash flash floods that killed dozens of people". AP News. 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Taliban orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close despite UN concern and rare public protest". AP News. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "Blast in eastern Afghanistan kills 3, wounds 7 at hotel frequented by Pakistani refugees". AP News. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
^ "یک مقام طالبان: در اثر زلزله امروز هرات ۱۲۰ تن زخمی شده اند". رادیو آزادی. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
^ "Afghanistan hit by third earthquake in a week". BBC News. 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^ Yawar, Mohammad Yunus; Greenfield, Charlotte (2023-10-14). "Exclusive: Taliban to join China's Belt and Road forum, elevating ties". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^ "Islamic State group claims responsibility for a minibus explosion in Afghan capital that killed 7". AP News. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
^ "FTP Cycle 2023-2027: Bangladesh National Men's Cricket Team's Full Fixtures". www.unb.com.bd. Retrieved 2022-12-14.

[:0-1] "97 percent of Afghans could plunge into poverty by mid 2022, says UNDP". UNDP. Archived from the original on 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2021-12-20.

[2] "Extreme cold kills more than 150 people in Afghanistan, Taliban says". CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[3] Yawar, Mohammad Yunus; Peshiman, Gibran (2023-01-01). Fullick, Neil; Kim, Coghill (eds.). "Blast outside Kabul's military airport, multiple casualties, interior ministry says". Reuters. Kabul. Retrieved 2023-01-01.

[4] "M 4.7 - 36 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan". USGS. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.

[5] "UN official meets Taliban deputy premier over women NGO ban". Associated Press. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.

[6] "Afghanistan: Freezing weather kills at least 124 people". BBC News. 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-01-25.

[7] "Afghanistan: Deadly suicide bombing outside foreign ministry". BBC News. 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.

[8] "ISKP chief killed in Kabul". The Express Tribune. 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

[9] Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Taliban Governor Of Afghan Province Killed In Blast: Police". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2023-03-09.

[10] "Earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan kills at least 19 people". BBC News. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-04-05.

[11] "Snowfall, heavy rain in Afghanistan kill at least 3". AP NEWS. 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-04-07.

[12] "Six killed in suicide attack near Afghan foreign ministry". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-04-07.

[13] "Taliban raid kills six ISIS members in Afghanistan's Balkh province". Al Arabiya English. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-10.

[14] "Afghan ministry says helicopter crash kills 2 crewmembers during patrol in country's north". AP NEWS. 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-05-22.

[15] "Almost 80 schoolgirls poisoned, hospitalised in northern Afghanistan". CNA. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[16] "Taliban provincial governor killed in car bomb attack – DW – 06/06/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[17] "Afghanistan blast: Taliban officials targeted at mosque prayers". BBC News. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[18] "Mine Explosion Kills 3, Injures 2 in Afghanistan's Samangan". Khaama Press. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[19] "Heavy rains in Afghanistan and Pakistan unleash flash floods that killed dozens of people". AP News. 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[20] "Taliban orders beauty salons in Afghanistan to close despite UN concern and rare public protest". AP News. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[21] "Blast in eastern Afghanistan kills 3, wounds 7 at hotel frequented by Pakistani refugees". AP News. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2023-08-15.

[22] "یک مقام طالبان: در اثر زلزله امروز هرات ۱۲۰ تن زخمی شده اند". رادیو آزادی. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

[23] "Afghanistan hit by third earthquake in a week". BBC News. 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-15.

[24] Yawar, Mohammad Yunus; Greenfield, Charlotte (2023-10-14). "Exclusive: Taliban to join China's Belt and Road forum, elevating ties". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-15.

[25] "Islamic State group claims responsibility for a minibus explosion in Afghan capital that killed 7". AP News. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2023-11-10.

[26] "FTP Cycle 2023-2027: Bangladesh National Men's Cricket Team's Full Fixtures". www.unb.com.bd. Retrieved 2022-12-14.

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v t e 2023 in Asia
Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan
Dependencies, colonies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau

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