Solomon Islands: World War II era weapons still threatening lives and development

Last century the remote Solomon Islands was the stage for some of the most intense battles fought during the Pacific campaign of the Second World War. But while Allied troops departed on the heels of victory, the military forces of Read More …

Deadly threat of unexploded bombs in the Pacific persists 80 years on

This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but in some countries, the trail of death and destruction continues. Bombs, nearly a century old, are still exploding, killing and maiming people and contaminating land. Read More …

Sri Lanka: Prime Minister calls landmine clearance national imperative

Even after 16 years after the guns fell silent in Sri Lanka’s civil war, the hidden danger of landmines still lingers across the Northern and Eastern provinces. Speaking at a Donor Coordination and Appreciation Ceremony in Colombo yesterday, Prime Minister Read More …

Pakistan: Soldier killed in accidental explosion in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

A Pakistan army soldier was martyred, and two others were injured on Tuesday when an “old explosive device” accidentally detonated along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Tetrinote Madarpur sector of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the military’s media Read More …

Vietnam: Silently, officers and soldiers of the Engineer Corps in mine clearance

In today’s peacetime, there are still silent wars within silence, dangers within dangers and hardships of the Engineer soldiers. That is the war in searching for bombs, mines, and explosives left over from the war . At the border of Read More …

Estonia: Over 800 Tsarist-era explosives found in Põhja-Tallinn

Hundreds of Tsarist-era munitions were found in Lahesuu Harbor in Põhja-Tallinn last week during construction work. Demolition experts from the Rescue Board were called to the harbor last Tuesday after 880 explosive devices were discovered. The munitions were naval ordnance Read More …

€5m German boost for HALO landmine clearance in Syria

HALO’s programme will expand to save lives across the country in response to soaring accidents caused by explosives The German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) supports the HALO Trust in Syria with a €5M grant to boost vital mine clearance efforts Read More …

Battle continues in Solomon Islands against UXOs eight decades after WWII

More than 80 years since the Battle of Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands, communities today are still grappling with the unexploded devices left behind. The major battle in World War Two resulted in thousands of unexploded and abandoned ordnaces (UXOs/AXOs) that Read More …

The challenge of explosive contamination in Iraq

Iraq’s history of conflicts – the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), the Gulf War (1990–1991), the 2003 invasion, and the war against ISIS – has left the country heavily contaminated with explosive remnants. Cluster bombs, landmines, improvised explosive devices, and chemical weapons Read More …

Syria: Mine casualties persist as UN partners scale up clearance operations

“Mine action partners continue to report casualties due to explosive ordnance, and that is happening sadly on an almost daily basis,” Mr. Dujarric explained in a press briefing on Monday in New York. Farmers and shepherds are particularly vulnerable. Since 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 …

Ukraine is riddled with land mines, drones and Ai can help

Early on a June morning in 2023, my colleagues and I drove down a bumpy dirt road north of Kyiv in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were conducting training exercises nearby, and mortar shells arced through the sky. We arrived Read More …

Children and War: The Impact of Weapon Contamination in Iraq

As one of the most heavily contaminated countries in the world, Iraq grapples with the enduring legacy of past conflicts, including landmines and cluster munitions. Basra, in particular, stands as a stark reminder of this reality, with a pollution rate Read More …

UNDP: Landmines kill in seconds, their fallout lasts generations

On average, one person is killed or injured by landmines and other explosive ordnance every hour. Their destructive influence lasts long after armed conflict ends, inflicting horrific injuries and death, while trapping communities in poverty and fear. Millions of people Read More …

International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance in Mine Action

Mines, explosive remnants of war, and improvised explosive devices continue to cause death and injury, especially in situations of armed conflict. On average, one person is killed or injured by such an explosive device every hour. Many children are among Read More …

Unexploded Bombs From World Wars Are Coming Back To Bite Us

Earth is riddled with millions of tonnes of explosive bomb material, particularly from the two world wars that struck the 20th century. While most have remained buried and forgotten over the past decades, new research is showing that many are Read More …

OCHA: Syria ordnance contamination

After 13 years of conflict, explosive ordnance contamination remains a challenge in Syria. Approximately a third of communities across Syria reportedly face grave risk of injury and trauma by some form of explosive contamination. Demining efforts are underway with the Read More …

Allied Joint Doctrine for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Support to Operations (AJP-3.18)

Allied Joint Publication (AJP)-3.18, Allied Joint Doctrine for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Support to Operations (Edition B Version 1) describes the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) area of expertise of military engineering function and how EOD principles are applied during the planning Read More …

‘Iron harvest:’ A Belgian team unearths unexploded ammunition from WWI

In a muddy field in Flanders, in northern Belgium, there are signs of a recent harvest along its edge — raw potatoes here and there. But toward the back of the field, members of DOVO, the Belgian military’s bomb disposal Read More …

DR Congo: Nine killed in North Kivu bomb blast

At least nine people have been killed and 16 injured after an explosive device accidentally detonated in a field in conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said on Thursday. The blast occurred on Wednesday evening in Lubwe Sud in Read More …