Shkin, Paktika

Infobox Settlement
official_name =Shkin
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pushpin_map_caption =Location in Afghanistan
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = flag|Afghanistan
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Paktika Province
subdivision_type2 = District
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latd=32|latm=31 |lats=40|latNS=N
longd=69|longm=15 |longs=55|longEW=E
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Shkin is a scattered village in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan located about a kilometer west of the newer, much larger, and border-straddling village and bazaar of Angoor Adda. Angoor Adda is controlled by the Pakistan Frontier Guards. As with the area immediately to the north, the Bermel Valley, the region is primarily populated by ethnic Pashtuns who share many of the same characteristics of their neighbors in the South Waziristan Tribal Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

The Shkin Firebase was named after this village. This heavily fortified military base has housed mostly American military forces since 2002 and is located just six kilometers from the Pakistani border.

Soil conditions near Shkin are marginal and only allow for limited agricultural seasonal use. Aside from small apple orchards/farms there is only minimal economic activity. The closest competent health care can be found in Wana, Pakistan or Kabul. Ethnic tensions between the Kharootis and Waziris remain high in this region. Until recently there were no paved roads in this Bermel Valley region. However, with the construction of the firebase, a permanent road from Orgun-E has made its way all the way to Bermel. The estimated elementary level literacy rate for males in the Bermel Valley is 60% and 10-20% for females in the Bermel Valley.

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400097819] Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton (Crown, Sept 1, 2006)
* [http://www.multimap.com/wi/161652.htm Map location]