Lakki Marwat: On Tuesday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported the deaths of five children with a dozen seriously injured, following the detonation of an unexploded mortar shell in the city of Lakki Marwat in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the weekend. The children picked up the unexploded ordnance in a nearby field, mistaking it for a toy, and brought it back to their village where it later detonated, UNICEF said.
According to EMM, the ordnance is likely one of the many unexploded shells left over from the military clashes between Pakistan and India in May. Since January, UNICEF has collaborated with the Government to educate 9,500 children on the risks posed by leftover munitions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The agency called on Pakistan to increase support for lifesaving explosive ordnance risk education.