Cambodia: 500 UXO units found in Battambang riverbank

More than 500 units of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were discovered by a resident in the riverbank of Stung Sangke River in Phlov Meas commune’s Phlov Meas village in Battambang province’s Ratanak Mondol district. District police chief Sorn Nil told The Read More …

UN condemns ‘horrendous attack’ on demining partner HALO Trust in Afghanistan

Ten people were killed, and 16 others injured, when gunmen burst into a demining camp in Baghlan-e-Markazi district and opened fire. HALO Trust said the attack occurred around 9:50 pm Tuesday, local time, when some 110 men, from local communities Read More …

Lebanon: Ministry of Defense inks two mine action agreements with UNDP, Dutch embassy

Lebanon’s Ministry of National Defense on Monday inked two mine action agreements with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Dutch Embassy in Lebanon. The agreement with the UNDP addresses the humanitarian and development impacts of mines, cluster munitions, Read More …

Magawa, a landmine-detecting rat, is retiring after five years of life-saving work in Cambodia

We all want to wind down when we reach retirement age – and it’s no different for landmine-sniffing rodent Magawa. After five years of hard work, the African giant pouched rat, known as a “hero rat”, is finishing work on Read More …

Cambodia: 15,000 landmines and UXOs destroyed in first four months

Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) destroyed 15,348 landmines and UXOs in the first four months of this year. The update was shared this afternoon by Heng Ratana, Director General of CMAC, highlighting that the move has freed over 35,652,000 square Read More …

International NGO to demine 7 million sqm conservation area in Zimbabwe

APOPO, an NGO operating in countries where there are landmines left over from previous conflicts, is working on a grand-scale project that will help local communities and wildlife in Zimbabwe, clearing more than seven million square metres of land. The Read More …

Colombia: Demining in Colombia must remain a priority

Following the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action last month, ABColombia reflects on the ongoing presence of antipersonnel mines in Colombia. While mines may have been planted with the aim of reaching other armed groups or Read More …

Norway continues support for unexploded bombs clearance in Lao PDR

The HALO Trust and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) signed recently a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Laotian Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare represented by the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) in Lao. The signing Read More …

Japan’s Contribution to Humanitarian Mine Action in Syria

With the support from the Government of Japan (USD 825,000), the United Nations Mine Action Service Syria Response Programme (UNMAS SRP) launched the new project “Humanitarian Mine Action to address increased threat associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria (31 Read More …

Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency eyes to purchase new mine clearance equipmentnew mine clearance equipment

The Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan plans to purchase new equipment for mechanical demining, an employee of the agency Musa Mammadov told Trend. According to Mammadov, the agency currently has six mechanical demining machines at its disposal. Read More …

Representatives of 12 countries discuss mine action in Ukraine

An international online conference on mine action in Ukraine was held at the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defence University of Ukraine with the assistance of the Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP). “The participants discussed the mine action system in Ukraine, the Read More …

UNMAS Iraq Programme Report 2020

Message from the Senior Programme Manager, Mr. Pehr Lodhammar What a tumultuous yet transformative and rewarding year it has been! When I look back at 2020, the challenges brought forth with the emergence and swift transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic Read More …

Towards Zero Contamination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Every year on 4th April, the world celebrates the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UNMAS, in collaboration with the Congolese Mine Action Coordination Center (CCLAM), celebrated the Read More …

Iraq: ‘Gentle steps forward’ in restoring Mosul’s Commonwealth war cemetery

There have been “gentle steps forward” in the effort to repair the war cemetery in Mosul, following years of ISIS occupation. Iraq’s second-largest city spent three years under Islamic State’s brutal rule and many of its buildings were destroyed, including Read More …

Venezuela requests support from UN to deactivate anti-personnel mines

In a letter to the United Nations, Venezuela requested technical and technological assistance to deactivate anti-personnel mines, a diplomatic source noted. Venezuelan Ambassador Samuel Moncada met on Tuesday with representatives of the UN Service for Mine-Related Activities, and ratified the Read More …

Laos govt says unexploded bomb-mine (UXO) clearance authority needs more funding

The government has called for more support for UXO clearance operations, with 132,000 hectares of land having been surveyed and confirmed to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance. Director General of the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action Sector under the Read More …

Zimbabwe without landmines: a crucial step towards development

Lying dormant until triggered by a victim and intended to incapacitate, landmines maim civilians and render vast tracks of land unusable. Mines and unexploded ordnance leave a terrible legacy of war, long after the guns have fallen silent. Hidden from Read More …

‘Complete the work’, rid the world of deadly landmines, UN chief urges

The United Nations Secretary-General has called on the international community to recommit to the target of a mine-free world, urging efforts to “make this the last decade when we need to devote ourselves to this task”. In a message commemorating Read More …

UNMAS Annual Report 2020 is out

Message From The Secretary-General The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) is an efficient and effective undertaking that coordinates the United Nations response to explosive ordnance, and deploys teams to survey, clear and dispose of these deadly devices. In any Read More …