At least six people were injured when a bomb exploded in South Sudan’s Jonglei State on Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred at Achingir neighborhood in the state capital, Bor.
The deputy police commissioner in the state, Chol Deng Achiek said investigations carried out indicated that a landmine planted during South Sudan’s war for independence could have caused the explosion.
Three women and three children were injured during the incident, he said.
Kuol Bol, a father to one of the victims told Radio Tamazuj that he was awoken by a loud explosion, only to see blood on his daughter.
“In the morning at 7 am while I was still asleep, I heard a loud explosion. I saw people running towards the scene. I went to the scene and saw six injured people, including my 7-year-old daughter. I then rushed them to Bor hospital. Only women sustained serious injuries but for children they are just bruised,” Bol said on Saturday.
“Those women and children were there to buy bread. So we don’t know what triggered the explosion”, he added.
Achol Majok, a resident in the area, also believed a landmine planted during the long civil war years could have caused the explosion.
The explosion comes barely a week after the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) safely defused a 50kg aircraft bomb that failed to explode when it was airdropped in Juba during the independence war years.
Last year, according to UNMAS, South Sudan passed the 5,000 figure for people either killed or injured from landmine-related incidences.