Mine clearance graduates begin field work

The training phase of Yemen's Mine Action Programme (MAP) finished last week, with the last group of trainees graduating from the three-month programme. Yemen now has more than 700 demining personnel, according to MAP director Mansour al-Azi. "All of our personnel are from the military, even our doctors and educators," he told IRIN. "They are seconded from military to civilian service. Because of their military training, even when they are out in the villages for other tasks, they know how to deal with mines and UXOs [unexploded ordnance] that people have found," he explained. Yemen is working to clear four remaining areas out of 15 that were designated "high impact" areas by a national Landmine Impact Survey, conducted between 1999 and 2000. The survey also designated 84 medium impact areas and 493 low impact areas throughout the country, and was the first UN-certified national landmine assessment survey conducted in the world. Some 923 sq km of the country were covered in landmines, affecting approximately one in 16 Yemenis, according to the survey. Landmines were planted in Yemen in the course of four different conflicts. From 1962-75, they were planted during the war between republicans and royalists in the north of the country. From 1967-73, mines were laid during the war for independence in the south, then between 1970-83, during a war along the north-south border, and finally, during the 1994 conflict. Deminers in the country do not use machines to clear mined fields, all landmines are removed manually, although al-Azi hoped to obtain a machine for use in more difficult areas. So far, there have been three accidents and one casualty over the course of the programme. “The programme was supposed to clear all the high impact areas by 2004, but there were difficulties in the desert areas with the movement of sands," Jamal Jarallah, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) analyst who works with the MAP, told IRIN. "The work should be completed by the end of June 2005." Remaining areas are in the governorates of Ibb in the south, Ad-Dhalla, and Abyan in the east. Al-Azi said areas were prioritised for clearance both according to the impact mines had upon communities, and to economic priorities. For example clearing the areas around the expanding southern city of Aden, which is part of a free-trade zone, and clearing roads in the popular tourist region of Hadramout in the east. Aden was declared a mine-free area in January 2004. Supported by the UNDP, the programme began in the late 1990s and has received equipment and training from the US government, donations from the Saudi government, as well as assistance from other foreign governments through the UN. Al-Azi said they hoped to meet the Ottawa mine ban treaty requirements by 2009, and to complete work by 2011. "We can meet our goal if, and it’s a big if, we have the right support and if we are able to reconstruct the programme to provide new equipment and so on." The 1997 treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel landmines, requires the eradication of landmine stockpiles within four years, and the clearing of all landmines within 10 years. "Our programme became a model because of the way we work," he said. "We have provided training for Iraqi, Somali and Sudanese personnel. Our programme is not very costly, and we are the first in many things regarding mine action, the first in our region to sign the Ottawa Convention, the first to provide the whole package of mine assistance to communities," the mine action official explained. In addition to clearing affected areas, the MAP also provides mine awareness education to a wide variety of people, including women, schoolteachers, the police service and farmers, some of whom are trained in their fields. MAP staff also register accident victims and offer them hospital treatment and rehabilitation. Some of the most serious cases are sent to Italy for surgery. In addition, the programme provides reintegration training, helping landmine survivors start small businesses such as handicraft work and shops.