‘We won’t eat tonight’: Hunger plagues Afghans in historic valley

Community is among the poorest in the country and the Taliban takeover in August has only exacerbated their hardships.

They have long survived hand to mouth, but since the Taliban conquered the Bamiyan valley, rural Afghans living in its mountainside caves have been left weak from hunger and fear.

Known as one of the most beautiful regions in Afghanistan, the rugged, central valley is home to several hundred families living in caves that were carved into sandstone cliffs by Buddhist monks in the fifth century.

The community is among the poorest in the country and the Taliban takeover in August has only exacerbated their hardships, with international aid cut off, food prices rising and unemployment spiking.