Demining work: How isolating the Afghan Taliban could mean more young landmine victims
CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD and MOHAMMAD YUNUS YAWAR, of Reuters, report on how the mission to clear Afghanistan of landmines has become more difficult as a result of the Taliban’s isolation…
Kosovo harnesses legacy of war to train Ukrainians to clear mines
Peja, Kosovo Reuters Dressed in body armour and a protective visor, Iryna Kustovska slowly sweeps a metal detector across a patch of grass in search of a buried fake landmine as her machine emits high-pitched squeaks. The 38-year-old civil aviation administrator from Kiev is in Kovoso, where she is training to be a deminer before […]
Ukraine’s mine sniffing dog Patron awarded medal by Zelenskiy
Kyiv, UkraineReuters President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presented Ukraine’s famous mine sniffing dog Patron and his owner with a medal on Sunday to recognise their dedicated service since Russia’s invasion. The pint-size Jack Russell terrier has been credited with detecting more than 200 explosives and preventing their detonation since the start of the war on 24th February, […]
Essay: Deaths from landmines are on the rise – and clearing them all will take decades
UK-based researcher SAM CLARKE – in an article first published on The Conversation – looks at the growing problem landmines pose around the world…
Deadly landmine legacy in Tripoli shows stakes of Libya talks
Tripoli, LibyaReuters The death of Sadeeq Ferjani from a booby trap left by fighters in his home in southern Tripoli is a reminder of the deadly stakes at play in Libya as international powers meet in Berlin to discuss the crisis. Sadeeq, then 39 and planning to marry, went with three neighbours to check on damage after […]
Gunmen kill at least 10 Afghans working for mine-clearing agency
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters Gunmen shot dead 10 Afghans working for the international demining organisation the Halo Trust in an attack on their camp in the north of the country, Halo said on Wednesday. Halo did not attribute blame for Tuesday’s attack, saying only that an “unknown armed group” carried it out. Afghan officials blamed it on […]
Venezuela to ask UN for help in clearing land mines near Colombian border
Caracas, VenezuelaReuters Venezuela will ask the United Nations to help remove landmines in its territory that it says have been deployed by “irregular” armed groups near the Colombian border, President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday. Maduro’s government on Thursday said two soldiers were killed by a land mine during military operations in the state of […]
Almost 7,000 killed by mines and explosive remnants of war in 2018 – report
Almost 7,000 people were killed or injured by landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2018, according to the annual Landmine Monitor. The report shows that 2018 was the fourth consecutive year to have “exceptionally high” numbers of recorded casualties due in large part to armed conflict and large-scale violence, particularly in Afghanistan, Mali, Myanmar, […]
Prince Harry to visit Diana’s Angola landmine project
LondonReuters Britain’s Prince Harry will make a poignant visit to Angola this month to visit the landmine clearance project that featured in some of the most famous photographs of his late mother Princess Diana. The pictures of Diana wearing protective gear as she walked among red skull-and-crossbone signs in 1997 won vital publicity for the […]
Prince Harry backs mine clearance in Angola, following in Diana’s footsteps
LondonThomson Reuters Foundation Britain’s Prince Harry on Monday threw his weight behind mine clearance efforts in Angola, a cause championed by his mother more than two decades ago when she made global headlines by walking through a minefield in the country. The prince welcomed an announcement that Angola will invest $US60 million in clearing mines […]