Woman dies, man loses leg in Darfur UXO blast

A woman was killed outright and a man lost his leg when an item of unexploded ordnance detonated in Darfur’s Jebel Marra on Tuesday

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that Halima Suleiman Yahya (41) died in the blast at Jawa, 15 km south of Deribat in East Jebel Marra, South Darfur.

Shadi Nureldin Haroun (18) lost a leg in the blast.

Clearance

At least 105 square km of dangerous areas and 37,898 km of roads in Sudan have been cleared of various types of landmines and unexploded ordinances (UXOs) by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the Sudanese National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan reports in its latest biweekly bulletin.

“The clearing provides unhindered passage and the freedom to cultivate land and graze livestock to hundreds of thousands of people living in fear of mine accidents,” OCHA reports.

Years of conflict have left Darfur and other 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 a camp elder, Unamid and/or the local police.