Qarabagh
قرهباغ | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°11′37″N 68°06′07″E / 33.193665°N 68.102002°E | |
Country | Afghanistan |
Province | Ghazni |
Seat | Qarabagh |
Area | |
• Total | 1,800 km2 (700 sq mi) |
Elevation | 2,050 m (6,730 ft) |
Population (2002)[1] | |
• Total | 218,000 |
Qarabagh or Qara Bagh (Dari: قرهباغ), is a district in Ghazni province, 56 km to the south-west of Ghazni city in eastern Afghanistan. The 1,800 km2 area is one of the most populated at 109,000; some reports count more than 218,000.[1] The ethnic composition of the district includes Hazaras and Pashtuns.[1] The landscape varies in different parts of the district - deserts in the southwest, plains in the southeast and mountains in the north. The district is seriously affected by drought, especially farming and animal husbandry. Health and education need serious improvement.
Taliban militiamen are active in the area. Their threats have forced the girls' schools in the district to close. They briefly seized the government headquarters at the district centre in the town of Qarabagh in April 2007. The Taliban also seized the Giro district centre southeast of Qarabagh. In July 2007, the Taliban carried out the kidnapping of 23 Korean aid workers as their bus was hijacked passing through the district on the road between Kabul and Kandahar.