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In Côte d’Ivoire, UN peacekeepers teach how to avoid unexploded munitions

In Côte d’Ivoire, UN peacekeepers teach how to avoid unexploded munitions

Peacekeepers in Cote d'Ivoire
United Nations peacekeepers in Côte d’Ivoire have launched a campaign to help teach children to recognize and avoid unexploded ordnance, after two children were killed in an accident in a central district as the West African country emerges from civil strife.

In the rebel stronghold of Bouaké, a team of specialists from the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI) and the UN-authorized French Licorne forces began a series of presentations yesterday in institutions and organizations dealing with children on how to recognize munitions in the zones where combat has taken place.

The two-hour information sessions were illustrated by posters titled "Danger! Do not touch!" They included visual presentations and concrete examples for sensitizing children to the risks of touching unexploded munitions

Two children died in such an accident on 10 July at Diegalfla, a village in the central district of Gohitafla, 150 kilometres north-east of the town of Daloa.