Hours before the break of dawn on a humid Tuesday, this writer along with several other individuals sat at a 20-minute debriefing inside a temporary shelter setup a few meters away from the Mankulam junction in the North of Sri Lanka.
With mobile phones aside and personal protective clothing intact, we were getting ready to follow our guide a few kilometers into the jungle. We would have loved to believe that it was just another regular jungle trek. But, it was not. Instead, this writer along with a team of experienced ex-soldiers were on their way to get a first-hand experience of de-mining operations taking place inside a thick jungle patch in Mankulam, now declared as a Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA) – at the exact location where the Jayasikuru operation took place.
Read more…
Source: DailyMirror News
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Explosive weapons: Civilians in populated areas must be protected
January 26, 2022
As the world urbanizes, so too do conflicts. It is estimated that some 50 million people now suffer the horrific consequences of urban warfare – a trend that is likely to continue as more and more people concentrate in towns and cities. Many of these conflicts are fought using weapons designed to deliver large explosive force ...
- Operation Flycatcher: disrupting Sri Lanka’s terrorist networks
January 11, 2022
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Boosting the ability of frontline border officers to detect travelers as potential terrorists was the focus of a counter- terrorism (CT) and border management operation led by INTERPOL across Sri Lanka. Codenamed Operation Flycatcher II, the five-day (8 – 12 November) operation saw the arrest of six suspects linked to terrorism, with ...
- Australia grants additional AUD1 million for landmine clearance in Sri Lanka
December 1, 2021
The Australian High Commission has granted an additional AUD1 million or LKR135 million for landmine clearance in Sri Lanka. The funds have been provided as continued support for landmine clearance charity, the Mine Advisory Group (MAG), until December 2022. Australia has been a consistent supporter of mine clearance in Sri Lanka since the end of the 26-year ...
- Jaw bombs, the deadliest threat to Sri Lanka’s elephants, are scaling up
November 19, 2021
Elephant calves arriving at dusk to drink at the Weheragala reservoir tank in Wasgamuwa National Park can be particularly playful. But one day in September 2020, a lonely young elephant was spotted exhibiting uneasy behavior. After all the other members of its herd had gone back to the wilderness to retire for the night, this ...
- Sri Lanka indicts ISIL ‘mastermind’ over Easter Sunday bombings
October 5, 2021
Sri Lankan prosecutors have indicted the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings along with 24 men they say are co-conspirators in the island’s worst single “terror” attack. Nearly 300 people including dozens of foreign nationals were killed in the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels, in a wave of ...
- Nearly 12 000 landmines destroyed by Sri Lanka under the Mine Ban Convention
October 1, 2021
“Sri Lanka is pleased to confirm that the Humanitarian Demining Unit of the Sri Lanka Army has destroyed nearly 12,000 stockpiled anti-personnel mines almost a year earlier than the deadline set to us by the treaty that bans the production, use, stockpile, and transfer of these indiscriminate weapons”, announced officials at the National Mine Action ...
- Sri Lanka Army to declare country free from mines and explosives by 2022
June 16, 2021
The Sri Lanka Army Humanitarian Demining Unit (SLAHDU) of the Sri Lanka Engineers (SLE) are working towards the complete demining of the country by the end of 2022. The SLADHU, the only the government entity to carry out demining operations has to-date cleared 886.19 sq km out 1316.65 sq km, identified as hazardous in the north. ...
- Sri Lanka: US backs mine clearing operations
March 12, 2021
US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Martin Kelly visited a Mines Advisory Group (MAG) demining site, earlier this week to observe the measures undertaken to clear explosive hazards in the area and speak with a team of female deminers. The project, which is part of the more than one billion Sri Lankan Rupees ($5.5 ...
- Keeping all Sri Lankans safe
January 29, 2021
Our beautiful country has steadily recovered from the long conflict of three decades. The nation is on its determined journey towards restoration and reconciliation. The sound of gunfire and exploding shells have ceased since 2009. But many people have not fully understood the massive humanitarian demining operation undertaken by the Sri Lanka Army over the ...
- Sri Lanka to deploy trained canines in strengthening airport security
January 15, 2021
Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority on Friday said that 20 trained canines will be deployed at the country’s main Bandaranaike International Airport to help detect drugs and explosives, local media reported. The dogs have been trained to easily identify explosives and narcotics hidden in luggage or secretly carried. Local media reported that the trained dogs were imported ...
- Sri Lanka: Japan to support humanitarian demining activities in North
December 25, 2020
The Government of Japan has provided a total sum of US$ 636,262 (approx. Rs. 115 million) to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) for humanitarian demining activities in Northern Sri Lanka. The grant contract was signed on the 23rd December 2020 at the Ambassador’s Residence in Colombo, between Mr. SUGIYAMA Akira, Ambassador of Japan and Ms. Emilie ...
- Sri Lanka: Japan extends Rs. 115 m in support of humanitarian demining activities in north
October 30, 2020
The Government of Japan has provided a total sum of $ 636,363 (approx. Rs. 115 million) to the HALO Trust for humanitarian demining activities in northern Sri Lanka. The grant contract was signed on 29 October between Japanese Ambassador Sugi-yama Akira and HALO Trust Program Manager Belinda Vause. Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation, the contract ...
- Australia allocates AUS$ 800,000 for landmine clearance in Sri Lanka
August 26, 2020
The new commitment will go to MAG International, an organisation working to destroy landmines and help people rebuild their lives after conflict. According to MAG, Australia’s funds will transform an additional 190,000 square meters of contaminated ground into a sustainable, productive and safe source for almost 8,000 people. Australian Deputy High Commissioner Victoria Coakley said ...
- Sri Lanka: Former LTTE intelligence Agent, Thangarasa Thevanesan, succumbed to burn injuries
July 9, 2020
The former LTTE Intelligence Agent, Thangarasa Thevanesan, aged 43, who was admitted to the Hospital in Anuradhapura, with 40% body burns, succumbed to his injuries yesterday, early morning. On the 3rd evening, a powerful bomb, locally made, exploded at the house of the LTTE Intelligence Agent, located 3 kilometers from Palai on the A-9 Road, at ...
- Sri Lanka: STF Search Wing soars to success
June 13, 2020
Roday, we as a nation cherish peace. However, the price of freedom came after much sacrifice. One of the teams totally committed to safeguarding the citizens of Sri Lanka, was the men of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) of the Police Special Task Force (STF). Since its inception three decades ago, the Search Wing has made ...
- Amid Covid-19, Rising Tide of Narcotics Trafficking from Pakistan Feeds Jihadist Upsurge in Indian Ocean
April 17, 2020
Islamic State cells in the Maldives, known to have close links with Indian Ocean drug cartels, have over the past eight weeks staged multiple attacks, including bomb strikes on police boats. Fears are mounting that a surge in narcotics shipments by cartels operating out of Pakistani ports could be linked to sharp escalation in Islamic State ...
- Japan grants Rs. 219 million for humanitarian demining in North Sri Lanka
October 21, 2019
The Japanese Government has provided a total sum of US$ 1,266,825 (approx. Rs. 219 million) for the SKAVITA Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Project (SHARP) and the HALO Trust for humanitarian demining in Northern Sri Lanka, a communique issued by the Japanese Embassy in Sri Lanka said. The grant contracts were signed on October 18 at the ...
- Germany supports demining projects in Sri Lanka
October 11, 2019
On 17 September, German Ambassador Jörn Rohde visited the demining sites of the HALO Trust and Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH), who is the local implementing partner of Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Kilinochchi. The aforementioned two non-governmental organisations HALO and MAG received a total sum of 4 million euros (approx. Rs. 800 m) ...
- Sri Lanka: US delegation inspects demining activities in northern areas
October 8, 2019
A delegation of US representatives yesterday (07) monitored the demining activities in Jaffna, Muhamalai and Pallai areas. Mine clearance organizations are carrying out demining activities in the aforementioned areas with the financial assistance of the US government. According to demining groups, a large number of landmines had been set up in Jaffna, Muhamalai and Pallai areas, where ...
- Sri Lanka: Germany grants 4m Euros for mine clearance
August 19, 2019
The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) provides 4 million Euros (approx. LKR 800m) for demining in affected areas of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The GFFO made this decision in light of Sri Lanka’s accession to the Ottawa Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention to assist Sri Lanka to be a mine-impact free country by 2020. It will be ...
- Sri Lanka says Easter attack leader died in hotel bombing
April 26, 2019
The suspected leader of the militant group Sri Lankan authorities said carried out a series of Easter Sunday bombings died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, officials said Friday. Police said on an official Twitter account that Mohamed Zahran, ...
- Inside factory where Sri Lanka jihadists made ‘Mother of Satan’ explosive used in the attacks
April 23, 2019
The bombs are thought to have been made in a copper factory in Wellampitiya, a suburb of Colombo It was owned by businessman and father-of-four Inshaf Ahamad, who blew himself up at a hotel on Sunday Police raided the copper factory last night and took nine suspects – including the manager – into custody At least 290 people ...

