Zimbabwe: ‘I lost my job’, US aid cuts hit women clearing mines

Hundreds of women hired by charities to clear deadly landmines across Zimbabwe are now struggling to survive after the United States and other big donors slashed foreign aid – and with it, axed their jobs. The women were working for Read More …

Argentina: Zimbabwean demining expert dies in explosive accident in Salta Province

Henry Martin Douglas Macharaga, a 52-year-old Zimbabwean explosives and demining expert, died in Argentina on 19 August after an explosive detonated accidentally while he was conducting extraction work along National Route 34. Macharaga, originally from Chirumanzu in the Midlands but Read More …

Zimbabwe: US$3.4m deal to speed up landmine clearance

Zimbabwe signed a US$3,4 million partnership agreement with Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to speed up the clearance of anti-personnel landmines and empower communities living in affected areas. The funding will target the remaining 12 kilometres of Read More …

Zimbabwe: ZDF intensify demining efforts in Binga

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is intensifying demining efforts in the Binga district, with works currently underway in the Lusulu area. This was revealed by Zimbabwe National Army Chief of Staff Quarter Master Staff, Major General Simo Maseko, during the Read More …

African Union expresses deep concern as Africa faces growing challenges for mine action

The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council’s (PSC) 1271st session, on 1 April, dedicated to the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, highlighted growing challenges for mine action in Africa. The session served as an Read More …

Zimbabwe appeals for more donor funding to complete landmine clearance

Zimbabwe on Tuesday appealed for more donor funding to complete the clearance of landmines in some parts of the country. Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri made the call at a dialogue on demining held in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, which was attended by Read More …

UK Pledges U.S.$5.5 Million for Demining Efforts in Zimbabwe

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 Read More …

Getting to Completion: Funding Mine and Cluster Munition Clearance in Lebanon, Mauritania and Zimbabwe

A survey of clearance operators and national authorities provides insight into how close three countries are to removing all anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions. This policy brief summarises data collected for Lebanon, Mauritania and Zimbabwe on budgets for clearing anti-personnel Read More …

Zimbabwe: Government committed to a landmine-free nation

Zimbabwe on Thursday held belated commemorations for International Day for Mine Awareness in Harare amid calls for increased funding to demining operations for the country to achieve total freedom, 44 years after the liberation war ended. The settler regime laid Read More …

Zimbabwe: 87pc wartime landmines removed

So far 87 percent of all wartime landmines have been removed and the Government hopes to have the last out by 2025, Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told her Ministry’s strategic planning workshop being held in Mutare this week. “We Read More …

Zimbabwe’s Women Deminers Sweep Away Fear And Stereotypes

When Zimbabwean deminer Memory Mutepfa digs up a landmine, places it in a pit and blows it up using electronic detonators, she feels pride, not fear. Mutepfa, 31, belongs to a group of women working to clear mines in eastern Read More …

South Africa: Two suspects apprehended for illegal possession of explosives

Two suspects aged 33 and 40 are expected to appear before the Musina Magistrate’s Court on Monday 21 November 2022 after they were arrested for illegal possession of explosives at the Beitbridge border post on Friday 18 November. The suspects Read More …

Switzerland Avails US$1 Million For Demining In Zimbabwe

Switzerland, through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), has provided US$1 million to APOPO Mine Action for clearing a dense minefield in the Sengwe Wildlife Corridor in Southern Zimbabwe for the next two years. The project, meant for Read More …

Demining exercise benefits communities in Zimbabwe’s border region

Mount Darwin District in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central Province has been declared landmine free following landmine clearance efforts by the government. The southern African country is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, where landmines have killed more Read More …

UK funding for land mine clearance scrapped in Lebanon, Iraq and S. Sudan

UK government funding for land mine clearance in Lebanon, Iraq and South Sudan, as well as three other countries, has been scrapped in what humanitarian organisations called a “catastrophic collapse in support”. The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) released a statement Read More …

MAG responds to catastrophic collapse in UK support for landmine clearance

Below is a statement from MAG CEO Darren Cormack, responding to the news that UK funding for humanitarian mine action has been slashed by 80 per cent. MANCHESTER — The UK Government’s decision to reduce its funding for humanitarian mine Read More …

Zimbabwe: 1 500 People, 120 000 Livestock Killed By Landmines Since 1980

Over 1 500 people have been killed or maimed by landmines while more than 120 000 livestock have also perished since independence in 1980. As a result, a local Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) organisation has urged the government to compile Read More …

Zimbabwe says it lacks funding to clear anti-personnel mines

The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday bemoaned the lack of adequate funding from donors and international partners to support its demining efforts. Zimbabwe is one of the most densely mined countries in the world. While the country’s land mine clearance started Read More …

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 …

Zimbabwe without landmines: a crucial step towards development

Lying dormant until triggered by a victim and intended to incapacitate, landmines maim civilians and render vast tracks of land unusable. Mines and unexploded ordnance leave a terrible legacy of war, long after the guns have fallen silent. Hidden from Read More …