By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UNICEF on Tuesday reported the deaths of 5 children with a dozen seriously injured, after the detonation of an unexploded mortar shell in the city of Lakki Marwat in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the weekend.
UNICEF said in apress release issued in New York that the children picked up the unexploded ordnance in a nearby field, mistaking it for a toy, and brought it back to their village where it later detonated.
The ordnance is likely one of the many unexploded shells left over from the military clashes between Pakistan and India in May, media reported.
The agency extended condolences to those affected, stressed that “no child should fall victim to landmines or unexploded ordnance.”
UNICEF denounced the presence of explosive remnants of war, as they continue to pose deadly risks to children and communities in conflict zones and former conflict areas worldwide.
UNICEF has collaborated with the Government to educate 9,500 children on the risks posed by leftover munitions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The agency called on Pakistan to increase support for lifesaving explosive ordnance risk education.
