Nearly 4,000 different items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were removed and destroyed by MAG following the accidental explosion of an SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) store in Kegulu, Yei County.
The explosive store was set off in March by a soldier who was attempting to collect honey, smoking bees out of a hive that was nestled in a hollow inside the store. In doing so, the explosive content of some of the items of UXO were activated.
The blast caused thousands of items of ordnance to be thrown out of the store, some landing as far as 800 metres away from the original storage site.
Malis Simon, who lives in the vicinity of the store, recalled the day the explosion occurred, saying "everyone began screaming and running".
Fortunately, the solider that triggered the explosion only suffered minor injuries and no other injuries or death were caused by the accident.
Approximately 50 metres from the site is a tukul (a local style house, pictured left) owned by 75-year-old Terrisa Jabbe, which was damaged in the blast. She told MAG it was fortunate that it was only minor damage and that her grandchildren who usually sleep in that tukul had already begun fleeing the area before the explosion.
Following the initial accident data collection, a MAG Community Liaison Team delivered Mine Risk Education (MRE) to the affected community, reinforcing vital safety messages for community members to keep safe while MAG obtained permission from the SPLA to clear the site.
Once this permission was granted, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team carried out Battle Area Clearance of the affected area, removing and destroying 3,908 items of UXO.
During a follow-up visit to Kegulu from MAG last week, the village chief thanked MAG, saying that after listening to the initial MRE presentation he actively reinforced to his community not to touch the items of UXO scattered from the accident. Last week's visit assisted in dispelling local residents' fears that the area could not be used because dangerous items may still be buried underground.
Terrisa Jabbe, proudly standing in her potato field, thanked MAG for their clearance initiative: "I know that the area is safe now for me to continue cultivating."
For more information on MAG's work in Sudan, please visit www.maginternational.org/sudan.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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