News – February 2024

February 29, 2024

Around 5.6 million hectares, equivalent to 17.71 per cent of Việt Nam’s total area, are still contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) as of the end of 2023. Việt Nam is among the countries with the highest rates of UXO contamination in the world. It is estimated that approximately 800,000 tons of explosives were left across Việt ...

February 28, 2024

The Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) on February 28 held a meeting with representatives of embassies of countries, international organisations, and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to celebrate its 10th founding anniversary (March 4, 2014 – 2024). In 2010, the Vietnamese Government issued a National Action Programme to overcome the consequences of post-war bombs and mines ...

February 28, 2024

The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has pledged over $1.65 million in funding to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to support ongoing UXO survey, clearance, and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) activities in Khammouane province. This funding coincides with MAG’s 30th anniversary of UXO operations in Lao PDR and highlights the UK’s long-term ...

February 28, 2024

In Amadi, a village located a few kilometers from South Sudan’s capital, Juba, local communities used to live in fear. Unexploded ordnance—a reminder of past civil wars—littered their ancestral lands making farming impossible and posing risks to women, children, and men as they went about their daily tasks. The United Nations Mine Action Service, however, was ...

February 28, 2024

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) successfully neutralised a large US air-dropped bomb in Kampong Cham province on February 27. The 340kg bomb, identified as an M117 US general purpose bomb, was defused by CMAC operatives, in a carefully planned operation. A CMAC statement said the large explosive remnant of war (ERW) was discovered in Chakar ...

February 24, 2024

Canada will provide critical financial and military support to Ukraine in 2024, including new financial support for Ukraine to meet its balance of payments and budgetary needs and stabilize its economy. This also includes the first year of a new multi-year military assistance commitment that will enable enhanced contributions to the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) ...

February 24, 2024

The Sri Lankan government has decided to extend the tenure of National Mine Action Center to 2027 to achieve landmine free country, a minister said here on Saturday. Minister of Urban Development and Housing Prasanna Ranatunga told media that the cabinet has approved the proposal, and the government believed Sri Lanka will be free of landmines ...

February 24, 2024

The United Kingdom said it will, through its flagship Global Mine Action Programme, contribute $2.65 million to help Mines Advisory Group (MAG) clear land for resettlement and agriculture in South Sudan. Mines and Bomb/Cluster munition remnants present a key challenge to South Sudan’s reconstruction efforts, with an estimated 1,400 people reportedly killed and over 3,800 injured ...

February 24, 2024

The federal government has inaugurated a committee to actualize the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in North East Nigeria. The committee is chaired by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, according to a statement from the minister’s office on Saturday, February 24. Other members of the committee include representatives from the Ministry of ...

February 22, 2024

It is estimated that since the end of the Indochina war, more than 22,000 people have fallen victim to Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in Lao PDR, almost half of whom died. An estimated 46% of casualties were children. Already in 2024, there have been 6 UXO accidents, in which 10 persons were injured and 3 persons killed. Moreover, ...

February 22, 2024

The United Kingdom has pledged a further $3.8 million in funding to support mine clearance efforts in Cambodia, as part of a broader commitment to aid eight countries across Africa and Asia. This new donation, raising the amount of funding to £17 million ($21.5 million), will be directed towards two leading British organisations, the Mines Advisory ...

February 14, 2024

This paper presents a pioneering study in the application of real-time surface landmine detection using a combination of robotics and deep learning. We introduce a novel system integrated within a demining robot, capable of detecting landmines in real time with high recall. Utilizing YOLOv8 models, we leverage both optical imaging and artificial intelligence to identify two ...

February 13, 2024

Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, has urged the Economic Community of West African States and nations within the Sahel to unite and mitigate humanitarian crises caused by improvised anti-personnel mines. He also asked them to engage in constructive dialogue, exchange best practices and explore innovative solutions to the menace. Mr Dery made the comments ...

February 11, 2024

A 35 years old man got seriously injure by landmine explosion (K59) on February 9, 2024, in Seila Khmer village, O’Bei Choan commune, O’Chrov district, Banteay Meanchey province. According to Cambodian Mine Action Authority (CMAA) the victim named Van Komsort, suffered injuries on both legs. The incident happened when the victim was walking to pick leaves ...

February 10, 2024

In a collaborative effort between the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) and the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation, 24 military personnel are set to participate in an International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) course organised by the Engineers Squadron. The primary objective of the course is to train and equip individuals, focusing on ...

February 10, 2024

The police received information about the explosion of a military device in a beekeeping farm in Chartar village of Khojavend district. The Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA) announced the details of the explosion, noting that the incident happened when the beekeeper Samir Alasgarov, born in 1996, touched the detonator of the hand ...

February 8, 2024

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) requested Laos at a meeting on Monday to join the other 164 countries attending the Ottawa Convention while Cambodia is chair and hosts the 5th Review Meeting of the organisation. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and CMAA First Vice-President, met Buakeo Phumvongsay, Laotian Ambassador to Cambodia, at the ...

February 8, 2024

Though remarkable progress has been made towards the eradication of anti-personnel landmines (APM) since the adoption of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) in 1997, casualties from APM are, alarmingly, on the rise, including due to the increased use of improvised APM, mostly associated with non-state actors. Whereas efforts to counter the threat of improvised explosive ...