Six children died and five others were injured after they played with an ordnance found in the bushes, which suddenly detonated, as reported by Josephine Angucia, a regional police spokeswoman. As a result, three children died instantly and three others shortly after, while being carried to the nearest hospital in Adjumani. In addition, the five children who were severely injured are currently being treated at the district hospital.
As preliminary investigations suggest, the explosion allegedly came from a hand grenade abandoned during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency which heavily affected the West Nile region, including Adjumani. Unfortunately, this was the second fatal accident in the town in less than two weeks. Indeed, separate explosions due to leftover munitions killed two people, said Angucia.
Civilians have unfortunately suffered a horrific toll in Uganda, especially with regards to LRA across northern Uganda. From the 1990s onward, government forces battled rebels from the West Nile Bank Front. Although the latter was crushed by the end of the decade, LRA survived and continued its bloody rebellion, causing more than 100,000 deaths and abducting 60,000 children, spreading its terror to Sudan, to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
To know more, please read:
https://www.africanews.com/2021/02/18/uganda-six-children-killed-while-playing-with-an-old-bomb//
Author: Barbara Caltabiano
