5 students killed in bomb blast in North Darfur

November 7, 2014 (TWISHA, North Darfur) – Five students were killed and four others injured in a bomb blast at a house in the locality of Twisha in North Darfur state.

The wounded students were taken to the hospital while the dead were buried.

The commissioner of Twisha, Mohamed Osman Ibrahim, and members of the security committee arrived in the scene of the incident and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Ibrahim expressed deep sorrow over the incident, describing it as “tragic by all accounts”.

The commissioner further said the incident is a reflection of the negative effects of war which continues to claim innocent lives and destroys infrastructure.

Twisha residents have called upon the state government to remove the Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) left behind by the rebel groups in the area.

UXO’s represents great danger in Darfur region which has seen war for over a decade.

UXOs are classified as explosive weapons and include bombs, bullets, shells, grenades and land mines that did not explode when they were deployed and therefore still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.

Many areas of Darfur remain littered with mines and other explosives due to the protracted conflict between rebels, government forces and allied militiamen.

While the hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) has taken recent steps to de-mine large tracts of land, it says ongoing insecurity in the region continues to interfere with efforts to fully address the issue.

(ST)