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 …

The Women Clearing Iraq of Unexploded Munitions

“They say this job is dangerous, and that’s true – it’s 1,000 percent dangerous,” explained Hoda Khaled, 33, from the city of Basra in southeastern Iraq. Together with other 13 other women, Khaled is currently being trained to remove landmines Read More …

Cleaning up the mess: the deadly danger still left behind in Afghanistan

As the winter snow slowly retreated from the hills and villages of Bamiyan province in Afghanistan, a re-energised force stepped once more into the light. Like the rest of the country’s population, the people of this central province with an 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 …

Fatal Solomon Is blast highlights key threat in country littered with bombs

A deadly explosion in the Solomon Islands capital has caused fear and confusion about the ongoing threat posed by hidden munitions left over from World War II. A central Honiara residential area was rocked on Sunday by the detonation of 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 …

Cambodia: Over 100 UXO units discovered in Battambang

More than 100 units of unexploded ordnances (UXO) were found by villagers in two districts and handed over to the Battambang provincial authorities for further action. Police More than 100 units of unexploded ordnances (UXO) were found by villagers in 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 …

Some 180 mines, unexploded ordnance defused in Karabakh last week

Some 82 anti-personnel and 18 anti-tank mines, as well as 79 unexploded ordnance, were found and neutralized on the liberated territories between April 19 and April 24, Azerbaijan’s Mine Action Agency has reported. Some 90.8 hectares of the Azerbaijani territories Read More …

Ukraine: State Emergency Service personnel evacuated from mine clearance site in Hnutove due to shelling

As a result of the shelling, the personnel of the pyrotechnic divisions of the State Emergency Service were evacuated from the mine clearance site in Hnutove, Donetsk region, the press service of the State Emergency Service has said. “On April Read More …

High-Tech Tools Join the Hunt for Forgotten Mines

In Afghanistan, Angola and Libya, digging out the deadly remnants of war takes nerves of steel and increasingly sophisticated mapping technology. Mine removal is dangerous and painstaking: Before the introduction of advanced technological support, the work was mostly manual. Teams 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 …

Armed forces of Ukraine and Sweden to cooperate in establishing mine action center

A delegation of the Swedish Armed Forces visited the 8th Chernihiv Training Center of the State Special Transport Service and discussed bilateral cooperation in mine action. “Within the framework of interstate cooperation, Swedish experts discussed the provision of expert assistance Read More …

Cambodia: NPA grants $1.6 million for cluster munition clearance

Cambodia Mine Action Center (CMAC) and Norwegian People Aid (NPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday, granting $1.6 million for cluster munition clearance and surveys. NPA resident representative to Cambodia Rune Kristian Dale-Andresen and CMAC director-general Heng Ratana Read More …