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Africa Horn

Several dead in explosion at a football field in Lower Shabelle

2023-06-11

[GOOBJOOG] At least 27 people died and several others injured after an bomb went off at a football field at Muraale village in Lower Shabelle region.

According to Janaale town governor Abdrahman Yusuf Al Adala, some residents in the area found a metallic device which they tried to use as a cooking tool but went kaboom! when they placed it on fire.

"I would like to tell the people of Janaale to be cautious of old metals. If anyone finds any old rusty metallic device, they should report to authorities and not touch it to avoid such accidents," the governor said.

He further called for assistance for the people affected by the incident and also urged security agencies to clear public areas of mines and any other dangerous explosives that can pose a danger to members of public.

Courtesy of badanov, Regnum adds:

At least 27 people were killed and more than 50 were injured as a result of the detonation of an unexploded ordnance in southern Somalia, SONNA reports .

“The death toll in the village of Murale has risen to 27 people, 53 were injured as a result of the explosion of a previously unexploded shell in the Lower Shabelle region,” the official statement says.

Among the victims, about 25 children aged 10 to 15 years.

Garowe adds:

At least 27 people mainly children have died in Somalia, authorities confirmed, following an explosion caused by an unexploded ordinance, in a town that has been under the control of Al-Shabaab militants, a grothatich has been wreaking havoc in central and southern parts.

The explosive also left at least 53 people critically injured in Muraale village on the outskirts of the agricultural-rich town of Janaale, which was recently liberated from Al-Shabaab. The old bomb was found by children who may have played with it, triggering the tragedy in the country.

The explosive is said to have been left behind by the Al-Shabaab militants who have been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.

Misuse of weapons in Somalia is an old story given the country is that fresh from a civil war that left hundreds dead.

In the last few months, Al-Shabaab militants have been running away from some villages due to sustained military campaigns against them by the Somali National Army [SNA], the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], and the local militia.

These sustained campaigns, locals say, may have motivated the group to implant explosives and, or, forced them to leave thfrombehind while running away for safety. Al-Shabaab lost huge chunks of rural central and southern Somalia, with the government intending to secure the country by December 2024.

Posted by:Fred

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