In the framework of support given since 2019 to the activities of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq and Syria, Belgium has decided on a new contribution of 1.5 million euros in 2024. In recent years, Belgium has supported demining in Iraq and Syria for more than 11 million euros.
The need for demining in Iraq and Syria remains very high. Contamination from landmines and other explosive remnants has an impact not only on the immediate safety of boys and girls as well as women and men, but also on their access to humanitarian aid, on their access to livelihood, on the possibility of reconstruction and stabilization and on sustainable development (education, health care, etc.).
Read more…
Source: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Related:
- Belgium, U.S. uncover military heritage
October 6, 2024
The history of Chièvres Air Base recently came back to life as U.S. Army Garrison Benelux responded to the discovery and removal of a 1,100-pound unexploded ordnance. The safe and successful response resulted from the collaboration between the garrison and their U.S. mission partners on base, local mayors, the Belgian Federal Police and the Belgian Explosive ...
- NATO troops complete live-agent training at Exercise Precise Response in Canada
September 4, 2024
CANADIAN FORCES BASE SUFFIELD, Alberta, Canada – NATO forces recently honed their skills during live-agent chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) training at Exercise Precise Response on Canadian Forces Base Suffield in Alberta, Canada. CBRN troops from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States trained together at the ...
- Spangdahlem AB hosts 2024 IED Rodeo
August 2, 2024
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – The 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal flight hosted EOD teams from seven countries for their yearly Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Rodeo here July 24 – Aug. 2. The multilateral, competition-style training exercise challenged the teams on locating and disarming explosive devices, collaborating with partner nation teams to improve interoperability ...
- Belgium: Police intercept vehicle after reports of explosion in Antwerp
July 14, 2024
Police in Antwerp intercepted a vehicle on Saturday evening following several reports of an explosion; no injuries were reported. “Numerous reports of an explosion were received just before 20:00,” said a spokesperson. It’s suspected that someone detonated something near a building in Wilrijk. The damage seems to be relatively minimal. The laboratory of the federal judicial ...
- Belgian government to allocate EUR 1M for mine action project in Ukraine
July 12, 2024
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has signed a financing agreement worth EUR 1 million with the Government of Belgium for the implementation of the UNDP’s Mine Action Project in Ukraine. According to the UNDP website, this agreement will be implemented until December 31, 2025, Ukrinform reports. “Belgium’s contribution to the Mine Action Project ...
- The Government of Belgium Provides Additional Contribution to UNMAS in Support of the Iraqi Mine Action Sector
July 1, 2024
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq welcomes a new contribution of EUR 750,000 (approximately USD 813,075) from the Government of Belgium, in support of humanitarian mine action endeavors in Iraq. Belgium has been a consistent supporter of UNMAS Iraq activities in support of sustainable and efficient explosive hazard management as well as technical ...
- Belgium gives new contribution of €1.5 million to humanitarian demining in Iraq and Syria
June 13, 2024
In the framework of support given since 2019 to the activities of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq and Syria, Belgium has decided on a new contribution of 1.5 million euros in 2024. In recent years, Belgium has supported demining in Iraq and Syria for more than 11 million euros. The need for demining ...
- Belgium: Man arrested after overnight Antwerp explosion
June 8, 2024
A 20-year-old Dutchman has been detained following an explosion in Antwerp train station district that took place overnight from Friday to Saturday, according to police and Antwerp public prosecutors. “The Dutch police intercepted a car around 5.30 am on Saturday”, the public prosecutor’s office specified. The driver, a 20-year-old Dutch man from Rotterdam, was arrested on ...
- Belgium: Car loaded with explosives breaks through roadblock at Belgian-Luxembourg border
June 1, 2024
On Friday at around 1am, a BMW broke through a roadblock set up by Belgian customs and police along the N81 between Arlon and Messancy, just a few kilometres from the Luxembourgish border, resulting in a car-chase. The four people in the car fled towards Aubange in Belgium, where they abandoned the vehicle on Avenue de ...
- Belgium sends nearly €1 billion in military aid to Ukraine
May 28, 2024
As part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprise visit to Belgium, he and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo signed a security agreement about the delivery of at least €977 million in military aid this year, they announced on Tuesday. The agreement guarantees Belgium’s support in the field of security, explained De Croo: modern armoured vehicles, equipment ...
- Belgium: Explosion outside house in Antwerp suburb
May 14, 2024
A house in the Deurne district of Antwerp was the target of an attack on Monday night. An explosive device detonated outside the front door of the house in the Deurne South area. Police are investigating whether the attack, in which no one was injured, is linked to the trade in illegal drugs. Read more… Source: VRT News Sign ...
- Belgium: Explosive devices thrown at homes in Antwerp Province
April 16, 2024
Explosive devices were thrown at homes at three locations in Antwerp Province on Monday night. Houses in the Antwerp districts of Merksem and Borgerhout were attacked, as was a house in the municipality of Boom, around 16 kilometres south of Antwerp. No one was injured in the attacks. Police are currently investigating whether the three incidents ...
- Czechs raise funds to buy 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine
March 7, 2024
With Thursday’s contribution of €140 million from Norway, the Czech Republic has secured enough funds to buy 800,000 artillery shells for munitions-starved Ukraine, Czech President Petr Pavel told journalists on Thursday. Overall, 18 countries have agreed to finance the purchases within a Czech-led initiative. The ammunition should be in Ukraine in the coming weeks, Pavel added. Read ...
- Belgium: Five houses damaged in explosion near to Antwerp’s Sportpaleis, three lorries torched at Antwerp docks
March 5, 2024
At around 11pm on Monday the Tweemontstraat, near to the Sportpaleis events centre was shaken by an explosion. At least 5 houses were damaged in the blast. A parked car also sustained damage in the explosion. A local resident told VRT News that first a fire was started at the front door of a house and ...
- Belgium: Four teens arrested for planning terrorist attack in Brussels
March 4, 2024
Three minors and an adult were arrested in Belgium on terrorism charges on Sunday, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Monday. Federal judicial police from Liège, Brussels, Charleroi and Ghent conducted searches on Sunday morning as part of ongoing investigations. Police seized phones and laptops but found no weapons. Read more… Source: Politico
- Europe battles gunpowder shortage amid Ukraine war
March 3, 2024
Hard-to-find gunpowder is hindering Europe’s scramble to provide hundreds of thousands of shells for Ukraine’s defensive effort against Russian invaders, with solutions only starting to emerge. Gunpowder goes into propellant charges that hurl artillery shells — such as the NATO-standard 155mm projectiles used in many guns sent to Ukraine — over distances of tens of kilometers. ...
- Belgium helps UNMAS continue supporting operations in Iraq
November 27, 2023
The Belgian government once again contributed about $802,000 to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq in support of essential mine action operations. Delivering effective and sustainable explosive hazard management assistance as well as offering technical and advisory support to the national mine response authorities are among the activities that will take place, according ...
- Five right-wing terrorists arrested throughout Europe with the support of Eurojust and Europol
November 10, 2023
Eurojust and Europol have supported the competent authorities in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Italy in an international operation against right-wing terrorism. During a joint action day, 5 suspects were apprehended and an additional 7 others interrogated across the different countries. Furthermore, data carriers and weapons were seized. The suspects allegedly belong to a right-wing ...
- US Army EOD technicians train with allies during Exercise Ardent Defender in Canada
October 27, 2023
5TH CANADIAN DIVISION SUPPORT BASE GAGETOWN, New Brunswick, Canada – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are training with military personnel from eight partner nations during Exercise Ardent Defender at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in New Brunswick, Canada, Oct. 20 – Nov. 2. EOD techs from the Fort Liberty, North Carolina-based 192nd Ordnance Battalion ...
- Hungary hosts international training for military divers who salvage unexploded munitions
October 25, 2023
Soldiers from across Europe suited up in heavy diving equipment inside a cavernous flooded stone quarry deep beneath the Hungarian capital. Once their air tanks, flippers and waterproof diving suits were secured, they slipped beneath the cold water and, flashlights in hand, disappeared into the darkness. The military divers from Belgium, Germany, Hungary and Lithuania were ...
- Belgium: Suspect shot dead by police after killing of Swedish football fans
October 17, 2023
The man suspected of killing two Swedish football fans and wounding another in a terrorist attack in Brussels on Monday night has died after being shot by police. Belgium’s interior minister, Annelies Verlinden, told the broadcaster VRT that an automatic weapon found on the “neutralised person” was the same as that used during the attack.Belgian authorities ...
- European Defence Agency monitored project links ground and aerial systems to detect explosives
October 2, 2023
The European Defence Agency has overseen the final demonstration of coordination between aerial and ground unmanned systems in the detection of explosives. During the demonstration, one aerial unmanned system and two ground unmanned systems, each equipped with different sensors, undertook a complete autonomous search to detect mock-ups of explosives and improvised explosive devices, including unexploded ordinance ...