UNICEF: Unexploded munitions become child's play

[tinnypriv]

Unexploded munitions become child's play
UNICEF, July 17 2003

UNICEF Says Cluster Bombs, Left Over Munitions and Hundreds of Surface-to-Air Missiles are a Deadly Threat to the Children of Iraq

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BAGHDAD/GENEVA, 17 July 2003 - UNICEF says that although the conflict may be largely over, Iraqi children continue to be maimed and killed at a steady pace by the remnants of war.

Since the end of the war, more than 1,000 children have been injured by weapons such as cluster bombs dropped by coalition forces, or the thousands of tonnes of munitions stockpiled and abandoned by Iraqi forces in public buildings and residential areas of Iraq.

According to UNICEF's Representative in Iraq, Carel de Rooy, children's natural curiosity makes them frequent victims of unexploded ordnance.

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According to UNICEF, in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk alone, 133 children were killed or injured by unexploded ordnance during the last two weeks of April. As many as 20 incidents per day have been reported from the northern city of Mosul, and the World Health Organization reports that in the south children under five account for 20 per cent of UXO accidents. The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) says injuries and fatalities are likely to be much higher throughout the country because of under-reporting.

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http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/27bc1c3deded7254c1256d6600480e41?OpenDocument (my emphases)