Cambodia: Nearly half of mine accidents occur outside identified minefields

Nearly half of all mine accidents in Cambodia over the past decade have occurred outside of officially identified minefields—an alarming indicator that vast areas remain unsurveyed. The government has tasked the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) to conduct a comprehensive Read More …

Finland’s planned exit from landmine ban draws sharp criticism from Amnesty

The Finnish government’s decision to prepare for withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines risks weakening international law and damaging Finland’s global reputation, Amnesty Finland said on Monday. The treaty, which prohibits the use, production, storage and transfer of Read More …

Philippines: Captured rebel leads Army to NPA’s hidden weapons in Quezon

An alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA), who was captured last week, led government forces to a cache of firearms hidden by his comrades in Lopez, Quezon province. Colonel Jeffrex Molina, chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division Read More …

Which countries are quitting a key landmine treaty and why?

NATO members Poland, Finland and all three Baltic states have queued up over the past few weeks to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel landmines, in the face of what they say are growing military threats from Russia. The Read More …

Finland: Move to leave convention banning anti-personnel mines could put civilian lives at risk

Reacting to news that the Finnish government has initiated the process of withdrawing from the Ottawa convention, a landmark treaty prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines, Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Research in Europe, said: “The Finnish government’s Read More …

Britain urged to join allies in pulling out of landmine treaty

Britain has been urged to withdraw from the key landmine and cluster bomb treaties to counter the deteriorating global security situation, former defence secretary Ben Wallace has said. With Russia’s military might growing and the US disengaging from Nato, Mr Read More …

Poland and Baltic states want to exit landmine treaty over Russia’s military threat

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 Read More …

Europe faces return of landmines as defence against Putin

Britain and its European allies must urgently regain the ability to deploy landmines if they are to be able to counter the “terrifying” threat posed by Russia, experts have warned. Finland, a new member of Nato in the wake of Read More …

Syria: Explosive remnants of civil war pose a daunting challenge

Almost 14 years of civil war contaminated swathes of the Syrian Arab Republic with roughly 324,600 unexploded rockets and bombs and thousands of landmines, according to a 2023 estimate by the US-based Carter Center. In the last four years alone, Read More …

Iraq: Duhok clears over 540,000 square meters of explosives in 2024

On Thursday, the General Directorate for Mine Affairs in Duhok announced its 2024 statistics regarding efforts to remove explosive materials across the governorate. The Head of the Directorate, Shilan Naheli, told Shafaq News that mine clearance teams successfully cleared seven Read More …