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"...the children were playing with remnants of weapons, bombs and landmines..."
The UN's children's fund (UNICEF) has condemned the death of 27 children and injures of other 53 due to the explosion of ordnance in a playing field near Qoryoley in the southern part of Somalia on Friday.
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According to the UNICEF Representative in Somalia, Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef, the UN is “deeply shocked and horrified by the tragic incident.”
"This tragic incident underlines the importance of all parties to the conflict in Somalia to handle ordnance with care, to clear existing mines and unexploded devices, and scale up mine risk education among children and communities," Saeed said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia on Saturday evening.
On Friday, the Deputy District Commissioner of Qoryoley, Abdi Ahmed Ali, said that the incident happened because the children were playing with remnants of weapons, bombs and landmines in a field of a local village.
#UNICEF says "deeply shocked" and horrified by reports that at least 22 children were among 27 people killed in an explosion in the Lower Shabelle region of #Somalia following the detonation of an unexploded remnant of war in AlShabab-held Muralle area, 110km South of Mogadishu,… pic.twitter.com/Q8TChJrM7B
— GAROWE ONLINE (@GaroweOnline) June 11, 2023
According to Ahmed, the children found unexploded ordnance in an open field and started playing with it, “but unfortunately, the remnants went off, killing some of them.”
According to UNICEF, children are likely to be attracted to things that look colorful, shiny, or of unusual appearance, and they are unaware of the danger.
"No matter where they are used, or how long ago they may have been deployed, explosive weapons can continue to endanger a child's most fundamental rights for months and years to come," UNICEF stated.
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