Landslide kills 13 in Afghanistan

Heavy rain and snow triggered the landslide in remote villages in northern Sar-i-Pul province killing residents including women and children late Friday, provincial governor Mohammad Iqbal Munib told AFP.

"Thirteen people, men, women and children were killed when part of a mountain fell over and destroyed five homes in Ghil Dara district of Sar-i-Pul on Friday night," Munib said.

Meanwhile more than 300,000 residents faced "serious disaster" after heavy snow blocked roads leading to their mountainous villages in Badakhshan, also in northern Afghanistan, another official said.

"There are seven districts that have been cut off from the center due to heavy snowfalls in Badakhshan province," Abdul Razaq Zinda, provincial head of the natural disaster department, said.

"They're facing serious disaster including cold and hunger," he said.

Zinda said some three tons of wheat stored in the region was almost finished with the poverty-stricken villages possibly facing food shortages in coming weeks.

He called on the government, the United Nations and aid organizations to quickly respond to the situation.

"If the government, the United Nations and other aid agencies would not respond quickly there will be a serious disaster, many will die," he told AFP.

The winter is harsh in Badakhshan and several neighbouring provinces along the Hindu Kush mountain ranges where decades of wars and conflict have eroded the basic infrastructure.