Unexploded bombs found in children's hands at Nyakuron West in Juba. (Photo: Awan Moses)

Residents of Nyakuron West of Juba are appealing to the government and the UN Mine Action Service to extract unexploded ordinance found near a house in the area.

Local resident Majeed Baba says he found three children playing with the two rusted mortar shells that they discovered behind a wall.

Baba says he informed the children about the dangers of the remnants of war and took the shells away in a safe place.

“I realized that it was a bomb. So, I told these children that don’t touch it. So, I took it and I put it inside the plastic bag so that I can report at any time to responsible personnel,” he said.

“I’m still have these items. I’m waiting for someone that can come and pick it. I did not reward the police. I’m still in there waiting with them. I don’t actually know how to describe them, but they look like serious bomb.”

The 20-year-old resident said he feared that the bombs could explode, and wanted to alert the police, but he was afraid that he might be interrogated.

Landmines and remnants of war are explosive devices designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person.

It is placed under or on the ground, and may be dormant for years and even decades until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.

According to reports, the entire area of South Sudan, which was once a war zone, is still covered with an unknown number of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.

The landmines reportedly continue to hinder movement, discourage investors and frighten returning refugees.