KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The weapons of Afghanistan’s long decades of war can be seen almost everywhere, from the burned-out hulks of Soviet tanks to the Kalashnikov assault rifles slung over policemen’s shoulders and helicopter gunships roaring overhead.
It should be no surprise then that young children play “police and Taliban,” chasing each other around with toy guns and weaponry designed to mimic the real thing. And like the real war, there have been casualties.
At least 184 people, nearly all children, suffered eye injuries over the recent Eid al-Fitr holiday from toy weapons that fire BB pellets and rubber shot, health officials said. In response, authorities have banned toy guns.
“The Afghan Interior Ministry orders all police forces to confiscate toy guns, which can lead to physical and psychological damage to people,” the order read.
It didn’t elaborate on what psychological damage the toy guns can cause. The noise of gunfire is almost unmistakable to most Afghans, and unlike in the U.S., there have been no prominent cases of police officers here killing children brandishing toy Kalashnikovs or plastic pistols.