A landmine blast killed a child and injured two others in Balanbal district in Somalia’s Galgadud region last week. The landmine, which the children found on their way to the town’s market, exploded as they were playing, according to Bahsan Salad Hashi, mother of the 12-year old child who was killed.
The wounded children were taken to Mudug’s regional capital of Galkayo. The area, which lies near the Somalia-Ethiopia border, is infested with landmines from the days of the Ogaden conflict in the late 1970s. The landmines planted in these areas during the war continue to kill dozens every year.
