A grenade explosion has left at least four children dead in Budi County, Eastern Equatoria State.
Paul Lowi, area inspector of police, said the incident occurred at Betalado village in Homiri payam on Monday evening.
The children, he explained, were playing with the explosive — which they had thought it was a stone — when it exploded, killing three children instantly.
“They picked it and played with it until it exploded, killing three children on spot,” Lowi, who declined to name the deceased, said.
He said the fourth child, who had sustained serious injuries, later died at a health facility in Chukudum.
In November 2020, a similar explosion killed four children in Yirol, Lakes State. Two weeks earlier, a grenade explosion claimed lives of two boys who were tending goats.
Lowi appealed to the public to avoid picking up any unidentified object to avoid such an incident from recurring.
More than 5,000 South Sudanese have been killed or injured by land mines and unexploded ordnance since 2004, according to the United Nations Mine Action Service.
More than 1 million explosive items have been found and destroyed in South Sudan during that time, UNMAS says.