The innocent 5 children who happened to be near the land mine on their way to Friday prayers lost their lives in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu as one of them ignorantly picked it up assuming a toy. Aged between 7 and 12 one of them threw the device against a wall that caused a blast tearing their small bodies through the air.
Another nearby 16-year-old girl also lost her leg as it too blew off in the blast.
The Somali capital has been on unrest since government troops backed by Ethiopian forces drove an Islamic movement out of the city in December 2006. Incidents like roadside bombs, attacks on government locations, cold-blooded murders and gunbattles are now common, and civilians too suffer as they get caught in the crossfire.
The Council of Islamic Courts ruled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six months last year. During their reign they sought to impose an Islamic state. Insurgents linked to the Islamic group have pledged to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla war.
Battles in Mogadishu between March 12 and April 26 had taken lives of some 1,670 people.
Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned against one another, defending clan fiefdoms. However the government was formed in 2004 with the help of the United Nations, but still the nation struggles to assert some real control.
United Nations conducted a study on mine-affected countries and Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan were found among the world’s most mine-affected countries by it.
Some 20,000 people lose their lives or get wounded by mines in these countries. Children are more susceptible to the mines as they come in an array of shapes and colors and are often mistaken for toys and can stay hidden for years and remaining active.
The charity Save The Children has asked for better education that would help children to recognize mines for their safety.
Source: CNN
