JUBA: 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.

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The explosion occurred on Friday around 11 p.m. 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.

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At least 190,000 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.

(Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Elias Biryabarema, Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) </s> The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on October 1, 2018 3:34 PM

JUBA (Reuters) - 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 p.m. 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 190,000 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. </s> The incident took place on Friday night in a village located in the province of Cibitoke close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Xinhua news agency reported.

The motives and details of the attack are not specified.

According to earlier information, 23 people have been killed.

READ MORE: At Least 2 People Killed in Grenade Explosion in Burundi

The attack came shortly before Burundians vote May 17 in a controversial referendum that could extend the president's term.

Burundi, East African country has witnessed deadly political violence since early 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza continued a disputed third term. </s> A MAN in Stockholm picked up a suspected hand grenade from the ground and it detonated in his hand Sunday, killing him and injuring his companion, Swedish police said.

The blast took place about 11am (9pm AEDT) just outside the Varby Gard subway station in Huddinge, a residential district in greater Stockholm, said regional police spokesman Sven-Erik Olsson.

“The man was seriously injured after he picked up something from the ground and this device exploded,” Mr Olsson said.

The man, in his 60s, was rushed to hospital but later died while the woman, in her mid-40s, received minor wounds to her face and both legs, Mr Olsson said. The couple had been cycling past the device when the man stopped to investigate it. Police said fragment damages on the victims and findings at the scene indicated the explosive could be a hand grenade, possibly an old one.

“We’re suspecting that it’s a hand grenade of some sort,” Lars Alvarsjo, chief of Stockholm’s southern police district, told the Swedish national broadcaster SVT.

Nothing indicates that the (injured) couple were targeted,” said Mr Olsson, adding there was nothing to suggest an act of terrorism.

Local resident Milorad Jencic told AFP he was shocked as witnesses and onlookers gathered around the police cordon.

“We had incidents in the 1990s and early 2000s. There were very violent gangs” at the time, he said, adding he was “surprised” by this blast because he thought those groups had since disappeared.

Police checked in and around the subway station after the blast to make sure there were no additional explosive devices.

Mr Alvarsjo said Swedish police have “unfortunately” noticed a rise in the use of hand grenades by criminal groups in the Nordic country. The three biggest cities in Sweden — Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo — have seen several violent gang- related incidents in the past few years.

Many of the illegal hand grenades found in Sweden are being imported from former Yugoslav nations, he said.

According to a Swedish police report published last year, Sweden is the European country where criminal gangs use the most grenades, often from stocks from the former Yugoslavia.

In August 2016, an eight-year-old boy was killed by a grenade thrown into a flat in a working-class area of Gothenburg. </s> Jari Tanner, The Associated Press





HELSINKI -- A man in Stockholm picked up a suspected hand grenade from the ground and it detonated in his hand Sunday, killing him and injuring his companion, Swedish police said.

The blast took place about 11 a.m. just outside the Varby Gard subway station in Huddinge, a residential district in greater Stockholm, said regional police spokesman Sven-Erik Olsson.

"The man was seriously injured after he picked up something from the ground and this device exploded," Olsson said.

The man, in his 60s, was rushed to hospital but later died while the woman, in her mid-40s, received minor wounds to her face and both legs, Olsson said. The couple had been cycling past the device when the man stopped to investigate it.

Police said fragment damages on the victims and findings at the scene indicated the explosive could be a hand grenade, possibly an old one.

"We're suspecting that it's a hand grenade of some sort," Lars Alvarsjo, chief of Stockholm's southern police district, told the Swedish national broadcaster SVT.

Police checked in and around the subway station after the blast to make sure there were no additional explosive devices.

Alvarsjo said Swedish police have "unfortunately" noticed a rise in the use of hand grenades by criminal groups in the Nordic country. The three biggest cities in Sweden -- Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo -- have seen several violent gang-related incidents in the past few years.

Many of the illegal hand grenades found in Sweden are being imported from former Yugoslav nations, he said. </s> At least 31 were killed in suicide blasts in the town of Damboa in Nigeria's restive northeast, local officials said Sunday.

"There were two suicide attacks and rocket-propelled grenade explosions in Damboa last night which killed 31 people and left several others injured," militia leader Babakura Kolo told AFP. </s> Venezuela’s government says 17 people were killed Saturday after a nightclub brawl led to a stampede.

Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said eight minors were among those killed. Another five people were injured.

He said a tear gas device exploded after the fight broke out during a graduation celebration at “Los Cotorros” club, triggering the stampede.

He also said seven people were arrested, including the owner of the club and the person who is believed to have launched the explosive device. </s> A man in Stockholm picked up a suspected hand grenade from the ground that detonated in his hand Sunday, accidentally killing him and injuring his female companion near a subway station, Swedish police said.

The blast took place about 11 a.m. just outside the Varby Gard subway station in Huddinge — a residential district in greater Stockholm, said regional police spokesman Sven-Erik Olsson.

"The man was seriously injured after he picked up something from the ground and this device exploded," Olsson said, adding that experts were examining the object.

The man, in his 60s, was rushed to hospital but later died while the woman, in her mid-40s, received "minor wounds" to her face and both legs, Olsson said.

Police said fragment damages on the victims and findings at the scene indicated the explosive could be a hand grenade, possibly an old one.

"We're suspecting that it's a hand grenade of some sort," Lars Alvarsjo, chief of Stockholm's southern police district, told the Swedish national broadcaster SVT.

Police initially were investigating the incident as an attempted murder, but later said there was no reason to believe that the couple was targeted. Olsson also said nothing has indicated that terrorism was involved.

Police checked in and around the subway station after the blast to make sure there were no additional explosive devices.

Alvarsjo said Swedish police have "unfortunately" noticed a rise in the use of hand grenades by criminal groups in the Nordic country. The three biggest cities in Sweden — Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo — have seen several violent gang-related incidents in the past few years.

Many of the illegal hand grenades found in Sweden are being imported from former Yugoslav nations, he said. </s> At least 13 people were killed when an angry football fan fired on others watching a match in a bar in South Sudan's capital Juba at the weekend, police said Monday.

Deputy police spokesman Kwacijwok Dominic Amondoc said the death toll had risen to 13 after some who were injured in the shooting during an English Premier League match on Saturday night died of their wounds.

"When I was shot I fell down and some youths fell on me. I was unable to stand up until he finished shooting all his bullets," he said.

The gunman, who appeared drunk, grew angry after being refused free entry to the bar where patrons had paid roughly $0.50 each to watch the Chelsea vs Everton match on television.

The man stormed off, "but when he came back he was carrying a gun and just started shooting randomly," Amondoc said.

The whereabouts of the shooter are unclear with "investigations underway", according to deputy government spokesman Paul Akol Kordit.

"It's very unfortunate and we as a government condemn this in the very strongest terms possible," said Kordit.

He pledged that the government would "pledge that we will do what we can to protect our people and bringing to book such people who are killing innocent lives with no... reason at all".

Insecurity in Juba has worsened since the start of a civil war nearly three years ago, with the widespread fighting leading to an increase in criminality and armed violence of all kinds.

In July the capital became a battleground as forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those of his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar, forcing Machar to flee.

Successive rounds of internationally-backed peace talks and agreements have so far failed to bring peace to the world's newest nation, which won independence from Sudan in 2011.
A hand grenade explodes in a night club in the city of Yambio in South Sudan, killing at least ten people and injuring dozens of others. The police commissioner in the city confirmed that the explosion is not related to the ongoing civil war in the country.