Poland and the Baltic states said on Tuesday that they want to withdraw from an international treaty banning anti-personnel mines, citing Russia’s growing military threat. In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland said they “unanimously recommend withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention”.
The 1997 treaty — which prohibits the use, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines — has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 countries. Russia has not joined the agreement, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has turned the war-torn country into the most mine-laden nation in the world, according to reports.
Read more…
Source: Euronews
Sign up for Counter-IED Report Newsletter
Related:
- Cambodia sees sharp drop in landmine, ERW casualties
July 9, 2023
According to the report, from 1979 to June 2023, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,821 lives and either injured or amputated 45,205 others. Cambodia recorded 21 landmines and explosive remnant of war (ERW) casualties in the first half (H1) of 2023, down 47.5 per cent from 40 over the same period last year, according to ...
- Ukraine: Demining Leopard vehicles cannot work in 35-degree heat
July 8, 2023
When it comes to enduring 35-degree heat, the German Leopard 2R tank-based demining machines, supplied to the Ukrainian army from Finland, are somewhat of a hot mess. The demanding temperature requires additional engine cooling, a necessity that unfortunately leads to operational disruptions. Of the three remaining demining machines of this type in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ ...
- Over 120 people wounded by Lepestok in Donetsk People’s Republic
July 8, 2023
More than 120 people, including 10 children, received various injuries after stepping on Lepestok anti-personnel landmines in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), acting DPR head Denis Pushilin told TASS on Saturday. The latest incident involving a Lepestok anti-personnel landmine in the DPR occurred on July 6. The victim, a man born in 1977, was hospitalized with ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 172
July 7, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have received additional access at the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), without – so far – observing any visible indications of mines or explosives, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. The IAEA experts – who in recent days and weeks have inspected parts of the facility ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 171
July 5, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts present at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) have in recent days and weeks inspected parts of the facility – including some sections of the perimeter of the large cooling pond – and have also conducted regular walkdowns across the site, so far without observing any visible indications of ...
- Cambodia: CMAC announces nationwide search for UXOs dropped by US
July 5, 2023
Starting next month, Cambodian Mines Action Centre (CMAC), in cooperation with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and other stakeholders, will begin a nationwide survey to detect mines and bombs dropped by US and its allies on Cambodian soil during 1970s. Heng Ratana, Director-General of CMAC, said yesterday that the government plans to ...
- Cambodia: Villager ‘seriously injured’ by landmine
July 5, 2023
At least one in two Cambodians was injured his right leg when he stepped on a landmine while they were picking mushrooms. This incident happened on July 4, at Dangrek Mountain in Choam Ksan district, Preah Vihear province. Read more… Source: Khmer Times
- Vietnam: Government approves UXO consequence action programme for 2023-2025
July 4, 2023
The programme aims to mobilise and use domestic and international resources to minimise the effects of UXO on the country’s socio-economic development, ensuring safety for the people. It seeks to promote dissemination activities to raise people’s awareness of mine accidents and help UXO victims reintegrate into the community, as well as its compliance with Vietnamese laws ...
- Ukraine: The lethal minefields holding up Kyiv’s counter-offensive
July 3, 2023
A Ukrainian soldier drags himself through the long grass, one leg trailing limply behind him. Seconds later, a flash of bright orange and a cloud of white smoke mark the spot, just a few metres away, where yet another land mine has been triggered. As a second badly wounded soldier pulls himself up on to the ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 168
June 30, 2023
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have so far found no visible indications of mines or other explosives currently planted at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), but they still need additional access to carry out further such checks at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today. The team of IAEA experts were today ...
- Estonia should consider using anti-personnel mines – Kunnas
June 27, 2023
Estonia should consider introducing anti-personnel mines in its national defense program, said Leo Kunnas (EKRE), deputy chairman of the Riigikogu’s National Defense Committee, on Monday. Anti-personnel mines are banned in all European countries. “While during the previous Riigikogu session, we argued about participation in the Ottawa Convention , there is still no ...
- 50 years since US troops left Vietnam, bombs continue to kill
June 26, 2023
Ho Sy Bay, 62, was rummaging around in his garden in central Vietnam when he struck something harder than sand or soil. Cautiously, he brushed aside the surrounding dirt and realised he was staring at an unexploded missile. Although Sy was unsure if the fuse was still intact, he picked up the bomb and placed it ...
- Afghanistan: Security forces seize weapons and ammunition in Paktika
June 26, 2023
According to a statement released by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on Monday, Afghan security forces in the country’s eastern Paktika province have confiscated significant weapons and ammunition. The confiscated weapons and ammunition, according to the statement, include thousands of bullets and explosive devices, 35 rocket shells, four mines, 14 hand grenades, and some other ...
- Addressing mine ban treaty challenges: New contamination and compliance
June 23, 2023
The annual Intersessional Meetings of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpile, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (aka Ottawa Convention, AP Mine Ban Convention, or Mine Ban Treaty) closed on 21 June in Geneva with more than 450 delegates representing 91 States and 60 international and non-governmental organisations ...
- Iraq launches strategy for mine action
June 22, 2023
According to international and local statistics and reports, Iraq is classified as the most contaminated country with mines and unexploded ordnance, which claim many Iraqi lives or cause them permanent disabilities and are spread as a result of the wars Iraq has gone through over the past decades. To address the issues, the Supreme National Committee ...
- Ukraine: Agencies join forces with deminers to reclaim agricultural land
June 22, 2023
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have designed a new joint programme for smallholder farmers and rural families most affected by the conflict. The goal is to clear farmland impacted by the fighting of mines and other explosive remnants of war, safely allowing it to produce crops once again. Read more… Source: ...
- IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine – Update 167
June 21, 2023
The IAEA is aware of reports of mines having been placed near the cooling pond. No mines were observed at the site during the Director General’s visit, including the cooling pond. However, the IAEA is aware of previous placement of mines outside the plant perimeter, which the Agency has previously reported, and also at particular ...
- Azerbaijan: ICRC reveals number of mine victims over past 30 years
June 20, 2023
About 3,350 people have become victims of mines in Azerbaijan over the past 30 years, Trend reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed the above figures in its Facebook publication. The ICRC also said that together with the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society, the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), and the Office ...
- Afghanistan: Mine explosion kills 1 in Wardak province
June 18, 2023
A provincial police officer in Wardak province said one person was killed in a mine explosion on Sunday. According to the official, an explosive device concealed amid rubbish exploded on Saturday afternoon while an Afghan street worker was collecting trash on the streets of Maidan Shar, the provincial capital of Wardak, killing the man. Earlier, a ...
- Cambodian war mines removed from Thai border
June 17, 2023
Mines dating back to the Cambodian Civil War five decades ago were successfully removed from Thai territory along the border with Cambodia on Friday. The Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC) of the Royal Thai Army was alerted via social media to three reported mines in Ta Phraya district of Sa Kaeo province. Read more… Source: Bangkok Post
- Ukraine: Sweden sending 250 mine detectors to search for landmines scattered after Kakhovka dam flooding
June 15, 2023
Sweden has sent 250 mine detectors to Ukraine to eliminate the consequences of Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam, Sweden’s Ministry of Defense reported on June 14. The equipment sent by Stockholm was intended for civilian mine clearance, said Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin. Read more… Source: The New Voice of Ukraine
- Iraq: Demining agency clears a minefield in Soran independent administration
June 14, 2023
The General Directorate of the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (MAA) in Erbil on Wednesday announced in a statement that they had defused a number of mines in the Sidekan district of the Soran independent administration. The statement added that 10 VS-50 mines were defused in the minefield of Spindarok in the Sidekan district. Read more… Source: Kurdistan24 ...