Mogadishu (Halbeeg News) – UNICEF has voiced worry about the growing fatalities and serious injuries among children engaged in landmine explosions in Somalia, which have claimed at least 30 lives since June.
According to Nejmudin Kedir Bilal, acting UNICEF representative in Somalia, multiple children have been killed in three different incidences involving explosive ordnance releases in recent days.
“Countrywide, at least four children have been reported dead, and five children have been left with life-threatening injuries after playing with war remnants,” Bilal said in a statement published Saturday evening in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.
UNICEF urged all parties in Somalia’s conflict to perform frequent risk assessments, accept responsibility for handling explosive relics of war with caution, and destroy existing mines and unexploded devices.
It’s intolerable that these incidents are becoming more common in Somalia, especially after the reported fatalities of six children in a landmine explosion in Hirshabelle State in June and 20 children in South-West State in July, according to Bilal.
“We offer heartfelt condolences to the families and communities of the victims. Every child has a right to a safe and protective environment. This must be a top priority in all situations, especially in Somalia, where the protracted conflict has left behind a legacy of explosive hazards,” Bilal said.
He said there is a need for scaled-up explosive ordnance risk education among children and communities, promising that the UNICEF will work closely with the government and humanitarian actors to reduce the risks that landmines and explosive remnants of war present to children.
“This involves technical guidance and programming on risk education,” Bilal said.
More than 1,200 Somali civilians were killed or injured in 2022 due to explosive ordnance, including explosive remnants of war, landmines and improvised explosive devices, according to the UN.
Discussion about this post