At least 10 dead in grenade explosion in South Sudan night club

At least 10 people have died and dozens others injured after a hand grenade exploded in a night club in South Sudan’s western town of Yambio, police said on Monday.

James Monday Enoka, a police commissioner in Yambio, told Reuters six of the injured were in critical condition and that they had been evacuated to the capital Juba for medical treatment.

The explosion occurred on Friday around 11 pm local time when someone threw “a hand grenade into a club where 500 people were dancing... we found four people dead on (the) spot”, Enoka said.

He said the death toll had increased to 10 by Monday while dozens others were injured.

He said the incident was not related to the ongoing civil war which has gripped South Sudan since 2013, pitting President Salva Kiir’s military against opponents led by his former Vice President Riek Machar.

“It is an isolated criminal act and the criminal will face a court of law,” he said.

At least 1,90,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict since it started. The warring sides last month signed a deal that is expected to end the fighting and return a measure of order and security to Africa’s youngest nation.

First Published: Oct 01, 2018 21:21 IST