Over Hundred Children Falls Sick From Eating Beans

Over a hundred Afghan schoolchildren were in need of medical care after falling ill from eating beans bought from a street food seller.

The youngsters, who all attend the Fatiha School in Afghanistan's Herat province, were admitted to hospital on Saturday, officials said.

Abdul Jabar Rozi, Herat's police chief, said the children were told by a street vendor selling the beans that he would ask their teachers to give them good exam marks if they ate them.

The vendor was arrested later on Saturday and an investigation launched into whether the food was deliberately tainted, he said.

Mr Rozi said: "Enemies might be behind this."

Taliban insurgents have poisoned Afghan police and army soldiers before but periodic reports of poison attacks on schools have mostly turned out to be the result of accidental food poisoning or mass hysteria.

Rafiq Sherzai, a doctor at Herat's regional hospital, said the students were between seven and 12 years old and their conditions were improving.

Malika Paygham, head of Herat regional hospital, said: "The students got poisoned before entering their class while eating boiled beans and in 40 to 50 minutes their conditions got worse."

One of the students, Ahmad Zubair, said: "A man selling boiled beans told us to eat them.

"After eating the beans we felt bad and started vomiting and we were all brought to the hospital."

Food poisoning and waterborne illnesses remain prevalent in Afghanistan, which has suffered through decades of war and has limited public infrastructure.