AFRICA/ANGOLA - Cleared of antipersonnel mines Benguela railway line across Angolan province of Moxico. Encouragement for recovery of the economy

Wednesday, 23 November 2005

Luanda (Fides Service) - A strip of 230 km of the 300km strip of Benguela railway which crosses the Angolan province of Moxico has been cleared of antipersonnel mines according to Antonio Catumba, regional director of Angola’s national institute for de-mining INADE.
The strip includes 12 metres on both sides of the railway track. “We think this 12 metre border is a guarantee of security” said Mr Catumba adding that the work should be completed by the end of the year.
This is an important step for Angola, one of the countries most affected by the sad phenomenon of unexploded anti-personnel land mines left over from the civil war 1975-2002. Much remains to be done however to rid Angola of mines, particularly those in fields which prevent the recovery of Angola’s agriculture which could become one of the most important in southern Africa.
A recent report by the United Nations anti-mine campaign said less anti-personnel mines were planted in 2005 although they are still planted by Russia, Myanmar (former Burma) and Nepal.
Egypt and Iraq were taken off the list of mine producing countries which are still 13 (50 in the early 1990s). The campaign says there is no market for mines and that most are used by rebels in Myanmar, Colombia, Nepal.
The 1997 Ottawa Convention signed by 147 countries banned the use, stocking and transport of antipersonnel mines. The Convention was not signed by United States, Russia or China. Four countries including Ethiopia signed the convention this year. It is estimated that countries which did not sign have stocks of about 160 million antipersonnel mines: 110 million in China, 26.5 million in Russia, 10.4 million in the United States.
In 2004 in the world 6,521 people were reported dead or injured as a result of antipersonnel mines, in 2003 the figure was 8.065. But since most of these incidents are not reported the Campaign estimates that the actual figure is about 15/20,000.
The anti-mine Campaign has financed for next year 350 mine clearing programmes in 33 countries:172 in Africa and 117 in Asia. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2005 righe 37 parole 433


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