Six North Darfur children injured in UXO blast

Six children were injured when a device exploded in Zamzam camp for the displaced near El Fasher, capital of North Darfur last week, after one of them reportedly found it in the field and carried it home.

The six siblings suffered various injuries, including one to an eye, a broken arm, and chest injuries. Their mother, Elham Ishag, told Radio Dabanga that an unknown device, believed to be an item of unexploded ordnance (UXO), detonated when her children started playing with it at her home in the Um Arda neighbourhood in the camp on Thursday.

Ishag explained that her daughter went out to fetch fodder for the livestock outside the camp, found a strange object and carried it home. She says that the children have spend five days in hospital.

* Years of ongoing conflict have left war-torn areas of Sudan littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). Radio Dabanga appeals to listeners throughout the region (and elsewhere in our reception area) not to touch any ‘unexploded’ grenades or other ammunition found in the field. Mark its position clearly to alert others, and report it immediately to an elder or the local police.