Two children die after buried explosive device detonates in Kenya’s Garissa County

Two children have died after an explosive device they reportedly found and began playing with detonated in Garissa County, raising fresh concerns over the threat posed by buried explosives to civilians.

According to local sources, the children discovered the device buried in the ground and removed it before handling and striking it, triggering an explosion that left them seriously injured.

Both children later died from their injuries, with one reportedly succumbing to blood loss at a hospital in the county.

The children are said to have come from a pastoralist family in the area.

Garissa County officials said they were conducting operations to locate explosive devices buried along roads, warning that such weapons pose a danger to both residents and livestock.

Specialised counterterrorism officers who visited the scene reportedly collected remnants of the exploded device and conducted a brief search of the surrounding area for additional explosives.

The incident comes amid continued security concerns in Garissa and neighbouring Mandera counties, where roadside explosions and attacks targeting security personnel and local government officials have been reported in recent months. Civilians have also been affected by the violence.

The deaths highlight the risks unexploded or concealed explosive devices pose to children and other residents, particularly in rural and pastoralist communities.

Mustaqbal