Sri Lanka: Life in a land of landmines


Sri Lanka looks like a droplet frozen in time. That very shape is a haunting reminder of the tears shed during decades of civil war. The emblem of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which waged the war, was a tiger baring its teeth and claws, but the territory once claimed by it—the northern and eastern provinces—resembles a raptor’s claw clutching the island.

When the war ended in 2009, the raptor’s claw had around 15 lakh landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), making Sri Lanka one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

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Source: The Week News


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