Six individuals, including four children, were tragically killed in an explosion caused by a homemade bomb in a forest in the Borno state of northeastern Nigeria, an area plagued by violence, according to local sources on Sunday.
The explosion occurred on Saturday when two individuals were gathering scrap metals for resale, sorting through waste they had collected in a forest near the town of Gwoza, located about 80 kilometers from the region's capital, Maiduguri.
This information was provided by a local official and two members of anti-insurgent groups.
Since the onset of violence in northeastern Nigeria 14 years ago, nearly 40,000 people have lost their lives, and two million have been displaced.
Displaced individuals often reside in temporary camps and venture into the forest in search of firewood and scrap metals, especially from burned vehicles during acts of violence, to resell and purchase essential food items to supplement inadequate rations.
In June 2023, authorities in the Borno state imposed a ban on collecting metals from forests due to ongoing violence, but the ban has had limited tangible impact.
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