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Blast Kills Eight Children in Sudan, Police Say

by Agence France-Presse

   KHARTOUM, SUDAN --

   Eight children were killed on Saturday in the Sudanese city of Omdurman
   when an unidentified object they found exploded, a police spokesman
   told AFP.
   Seven children were killed on the spot, while the eighth one died of
   wounds at a hospital, Gen. Hashim Abdelrahim said.
   He said the children, who were thought to be searching for scrap that
   they later sell, came across a "strange object" that "exploded" when
   they handled it.
   The area where the incident took place in north Omdurman hosted a
   military facility several years ago.
   Sudanese state media confirmed that eight children had died in a blast.
   It did not offer details.
   Abdelrahim said police were investigating the incident.
   Many school-age children often have to resort to menial jobs to earn a
   living amid a worsening economic crisis that has seen food prices soar.
   The economic crisis has triggered nationwide protests for more than
   three months against the rule of President Omar al-Bashir.
   Bashir has remained defiant. He imposed a nationwide state of emergency
   on Feb. 22 to quell the demonstrations, seen as the biggest challenge
   to his three-decade rule.