News – September 2024

September 30, 2024

Angola’s landmine problem is a tragic legacy of decades of conflict, first in the fight for independence from Portugal and later in the ensuing civil war. Historical records indicate that almost all parties involved in these conflicts were responsible for mining large portions of the country’s territory. Today, Angola remains one of the most heavily mined ...

September 30, 2024

On September 30, 2024, the Government of Canada announced more than $38.3 million in funding for a total of 15 projects to support security, peace and stability in the Middle East and Central Asia. Through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program and the Middle East Strategy, Canada is investing $16.6 million in 6 projects to support ...

September 29, 2024

Naha City in Okinawa Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has asked about 1,400 people to temporarily evacuate ahead of a large-scale operation to dispose of an unexploded bomb from World War Two scheduled in the city on Sunday. The bomb was found during sewage work in a residential area of the prefectural capital last December. The area was ...

September 29, 2024

The 2024 International Humanitarian Demining Training Course, which was hosted by the Chinese government on Friday, held its closing ceremony in Nanjing, the capital of east China’s Jiangsu province, with attendees praising China’s role in international demining cooperation and assistance. Representatives of the UN, ASEAN, Cambodia, Laos and the International Committee of the Red Cross attended ...

September 28, 2024

Bomb disposal experts have exploded a suspected World War One bomb that was found in an Oxfordshire canal. Thames Valley Police officers had found the shell in a canal in Banbury and asked people not to approach the area. The Force then organised a controlled explosion of the item in Spiceball Park. Read more… Source: ITV News Related:  

September 27, 2024

UNOPS and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Yemen are working to scale-up much-needed mine action operations across the country. Years of conflict in Yemen have left a devastating mark on the country, including the widespread contamination of explosive remnants of war. This deadly residue of war poses a constant threat to the people of Yemen, ...

September 27, 2024

Italian Undersecretary Silli today chaired the 27th Meeting of the National Committee for Humanitarian Action against Anti-Personnel Mines (CNAUMA) held in Rome. The meeting represents a key opportunity to exchange views with administrations and associations working in the sector. “Humanitarian action against anti-personnel mines is a major priority for Italy and for the promotion of peace ...

September 26, 2024

A Russian FAB-500 guided aerial bomb, which likely failed to detonate upon impact, was found near the Ivan Kharytonenko road bridge in the city of Sumy on the morning of 26 September. The road was closed to traffic. Later, the authorities reported that bomb disposal teams from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service had promptly dealt with the ...

September 26, 2024

Hours before the break of dawn on a humid Tuesday, this writer along with several other individuals sat at a 20-minute debriefing inside a temporary shelter setup a few meters away from the Mankulam junction in the North of Sri Lanka. With mobile phones aside and personal protective clothing intact, we were getting ready to follow ...

September 26, 2024

Under the South-South Cooperation training programme, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has successfully and proudly completed its mission to assist with training Colombian demining teams in Colombia. According to CMAC, sharing knowledge in the field of mine action helps strengthen demining operations of Colombia, a Latin American country plagued by civil war for years. Heng ...

September 25, 2024

Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), and Tomoko Shimada, director of the Peace Building Office of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tokyo, on Monday at the CMAC Headquarters signed the “Minutes of Discussions on the Project for Strengthening Organizational Functions of CMAC Phase-2”, which is scheduled to begin from May ...

September 21, 2024

The Ministry of Environment announced on Saturday, the clearing of 4,000 cubic meters of mines across Iraq, while indicating the completion of projects for the benefit of industrial and oil lands at a rate of 100%, confirming the existence of a joint committee to address minefields that obstruct the extension of oil pipelines. The Director of ...

September 21, 2024

In Monywa Township, Sagaing Region, military trucks carrying reinforcements and junta soldiers left to clear mines were assaulted, reportedly killing ten soldiers and injuring three others. On September 19, around 11:30 AM, two military trucks carrying reinforcements to Chaung-U were hit by landmines along the Monywa-Mandalay road following another attack targeted mine-clearing soldiers on two vehicles ...

September 21, 2024

Throughout most of Bié province, the soil is fertile and water sources are widely accessible, but where mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are present, use of the land is severely limited. From 1983 to 1985, mines and other explosive items were laid around Lusserei village cutting off access to large amounts of land. Ever since, the ...

September 21, 2024

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Mine Action Agency has revealed that over 776 square kilometers of land in the region remain contaminated with landmines, calling for immediate funding to accelerate clearance efforts. The agency is requesting a share of a $400 million loan provided by the British Import Agency to the Iraqi government, but the funds ...

September 21, 2024

Four days after blowing up a huge Russian ammunition stockpile in the town of Toropets, in western Russia 300 miles from Ukraine, Ukrainian drones struck again—landing a second blow on arsenals in Toropets on Saturday morning while also triggering a massive blast in Tikhoretsk, in southern Russia just 200 miles from the front line in ...

September 18, 2024

The First Vice-President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and also the President of the Ottawa Convention, Ly Thuch, chaired a meeting with the Committee on Cooperative Compliance and Ukraine with Yevheniia Filipenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva on Tuesday. Thuch began ...

September 18, 2024

A major Ukrainian drone attack on Russia triggered a giant blast and forced the partial evacuation of residents near the site of a large Russian arsenal in the Tver region on Wednesday. Unverified video and images on social media showed a huge ball of flame blasting high into the night sky and detonations thundering across a ...

September 18, 2024

According to the minister, Lithuania has already provided 153 million euros in aid to Ukraine this year. Lithuania also plans to contribute 10 million euros to the production of the Palanytsia rocket drone system in Ukraine and to supply radars, mine-clearing equipment, and short-range air defence systems. “We are looking for short-range air defence systems on ...

September 18, 2024

The United Kingdom has announced an additional USD 5.5 million in funding to aid landmine clearance in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces. The initiative aims to enhance safety in these regions and promote awareness of the lingering dangers posed by landmines. The funding, allocated to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and The HALO Trust ...

September 18, 2024

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed for the demining of over 580,000 square meters of land in Logar Province. According to a report from the National Disaster Management Authority, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the Acting Head of the Authority, held a meeting with Elhamullah Mustafa, Head of External Relations at HALO Trust. The discussion focused on ...

September 16, 2024

As women are increasingly more involved in the traditionally male-dominated mine action sector, it is important to ensure that gender equality principles are taken into account across all aspects of demining work, including identifying areas to be demined, awareness raising, administrative and managerial roles. This will help increase efficiency, ensure higher safety standards and provide greater ...

September 15, 2024

This year 2024 has been a record year so far for the removal of explosive remnants from the Second World War in the country. That’s because more than 5,400 bombs have already been destroyed thanks to the combination of Operation Render Safe and the daily operations of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), Explosive Ordnance ...

September 15, 2024

North District Police said on Saturday that it raided a compound in Yafa an-Naseriyye, an Arab town near Nazareth, and uncovered a stockpile of arms including four guns, hundreds of bullets, cartridges and a missile. Superintendent Daniel (Danny) Levy, the new commissioner, announced the beginning of an operation to curb crime in the north. Read more… Source: Ynet ...