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Afghanistan to be cleared of
landmines in a decade
KABUL (PAN): The casualties caused by landmines have declined by 75
percent over the past 10 years and the figure will come down to zero after
a decade, a demining organisation said on Tuesday.
Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA) Director
Mohammad Siddique Rashid told Pajhwok Afghan News 169 civilians were
killed or wounded in mine explosions every month in 2011.
But the monthly toll fell to 42 in 2012, showing a reduction of 75 percent,
he said. Barring Daikaundi province, eastern and southern parts of the
country are the worst-hit by mines.
Over the past 22 years, a 19,000 kilometres square area has been cleared
of mines and unexploded ordnance but a 6,000-km area is yet to be
demined. More than a million mines and warheads have been recovered and
defused, he added.
Of the Afghan 34,000 villages, 1,815 faced the danger of mines, the official
said, adding eight million females and 12 million males had been educated
by MACCA on the risks associated with mines and unexploded materials.
Forty-three major projects, including water dams in Kunar, Laghman and
Takhar provinces and a railway line from Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul, are
currently threatened by landmines.
“If donors support demining projects, the threat will be eliminated and no
one will suffer casualties as a result of explosions in 10 years from now,”
Rashid said.
According to Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC) Director Kifayatullah
Balagh, more than 100,000 metres square of land has been cleared of
unexploded ordnance in the Qasaba area on the outskirts of Kabul since
September 2011.
The US-backed organisation is working in 13 central and eastern provinces
of the country. US Deputy Secretary of State Walter Givehan says
Washington will continue to assist Afghanistan with demining.
Operations by more than 40 demining organisations in the country are
being monitored by MACCA.
http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/02/14...ndmines-decade
landmines in a decade
KABUL (PAN): The casualties caused by landmines have declined by 75
percent over the past 10 years and the figure will come down to zero after
a decade, a demining organisation said on Tuesday.
Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA) Director
Mohammad Siddique Rashid told Pajhwok Afghan News 169 civilians were
killed or wounded in mine explosions every month in 2011.
But the monthly toll fell to 42 in 2012, showing a reduction of 75 percent,
he said. Barring Daikaundi province, eastern and southern parts of the
country are the worst-hit by mines.
Over the past 22 years, a 19,000 kilometres square area has been cleared
of mines and unexploded ordnance but a 6,000-km area is yet to be
demined. More than a million mines and warheads have been recovered and
defused, he added.
Of the Afghan 34,000 villages, 1,815 faced the danger of mines, the official
said, adding eight million females and 12 million males had been educated
by MACCA on the risks associated with mines and unexploded materials.
Forty-three major projects, including water dams in Kunar, Laghman and
Takhar provinces and a railway line from Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul, are
currently threatened by landmines.
“If donors support demining projects, the threat will be eliminated and no
one will suffer casualties as a result of explosions in 10 years from now,”
Rashid said.
According to Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC) Director Kifayatullah
Balagh, more than 100,000 metres square of land has been cleared of
unexploded ordnance in the Qasaba area on the outskirts of Kabul since
September 2011.
The US-backed organisation is working in 13 central and eastern provinces
of the country. US Deputy Secretary of State Walter Givehan says
Washington will continue to assist Afghanistan with demining.
Operations by more than 40 demining organisations in the country are
being monitored by MACCA.
http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/02/14...ndmines-decade