The victims in the 1 March incident were two girls and three boys between the ages of four and eleven, according to Fashoda County deputy commissioner Joseph William Kwol.

A humanitarian assessment team consisting of representatives of UNMIS, UNICEF, the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) and Mine Tech International demining company visited the site of the accident on 2 March.

The grenade was found on the bank of the Nile River by an 11-year-old girl named Nyabol Ajing, who brought the device home to play with it. A friend of hers recognized the grenade as a dangerous explosive and took it away for burial.

But Nyabol later unearthed the grenade, came back home with the device and placed it in a fire she had made to cook some porridge.

The grenade exploded when the children struck the heated device with an iron rod.

"There are some areas in Kodok payam where land mines are just lying on the surface," said Fashoda County police director William Chol. "It would be easy for kids to pick them up and play with them."

UNMAO conducted general surveys of the payam and environs in 2006 and 2008, and the Malakal-based Cambodian Military Demining Platoon had been planning to visit Kodok later this year.

"There is still unexploded ordnance out there, and (the Kodok payam) is one of our top priorities," said UNMAO regional quality assurance specialist Mark Connelly. "But access to the town is extremely difficult, and that hampers our demining operation."

Kodok saw a significant amount of fighting during Sudan's second civil war. A tour of the area led by the payam's administrative officer Wilson Obang revealed two abandoned grenades in a field to the south of town.

UNICEF Child Protection Officer Christine Clarence told local officials that the UN would organize a landmine awareness training for area residents.