Nepal, April 18 -- There are no children in the Afghan border village of Barikot, where the school has been smashed by shells and the playground sits deserted after weeks of war with Pakistan.

Almost all of the 8,000 residents fled after the conflict erupted in late February, but AFP journalists travelled to the remote area of the Hindu Kush just after the road to Barikot reopened this week.

Ruhollah Khpalwak, a shopkeeper whose store was destroyed, stood in the school science lab that was littered with broken glass.

"This is the school where I studied. I feel really sad," said the 23-year-old.

The site had welcomed pupils from primary through to high school, but the complex had extensive damage that residents attributed to Pakistani...