TALIBAN leaders visited western Afghanistan’s Herat province today in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people over the weekend and flattened entire villages, a statement said.

Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 quake hit a densely populated area in Herat and was followed by strong aftershocks in what was one of the deadliest to strike the country in two decades.

The Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Abdul Ghani Baradar, and his team was also set to visit the quake-affected region on Monday to deliver “immediate relief assistance” and ensure “equitable and accurate distribution of aid,” according to a statement from the capital, Kabul.

Local people have been digging with their bare hands to reach the hundreds still thought to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake’s epicentre was about 25 miles north-west of the city of Herat, the provincial capital. 

A global response to the Afghanistan quake has been slow, with much of the world wary of dealing directly with the Taliban government.

Aid agencies and nongovernmental groups have appealed for the international community to come forward, but only a handful of countries have publicly offered support, including neighbouring China and Pakistan.

Global charity World Vision said: “The situation is worse than we imagined, with people in devastated villages still desperately trying to rescue survivors from under the rubble with their bare hands.”

Reinforcements from Kabul arrived on Sunday but the area of the quake has only one government-run hospital.

“Our colleagues and their families are processing this devastation in their hometowns, and yet we are responding with everything we have,” said Thamindri de Silva, head of the charity’s Afghanistan office. 

“People need urgent medical care, water, food, shelter and help to stay safe. Please stand with us as we respond,” she added.