Rains move land mines

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has received reports of an unconfirmed fatal mine accident in the Adi Keyih area, an UNMEE spokesman said at a press briefing on 31 August. He told journalists that a serious land-mine problem had been made worse because of rains. "When it rains heavily, some mines may start to move around," he said. This could have contributed to the recent accident involving eight Jordanian soldiers, injured when their water truck hit an antitank mine on 18 August, the spokesman said. An investigation is still under way, but has already established that the mine was buried at a depth of 30 to 40 cm, and had not been detected by the mine-clearance roller. UNMEE said there appeared to be no reason to believe that it was a newly laid mine.

According to UNMEE, the UN is working hard on the issue of land mines, in collaboration with NGOs and other relevant agencies. However, full details have not yet been furnished by the Ethiopian government. "We still hope that the Ethiopian government will provide further information and collaboration on the question of the land-mine maps," the spokesman said.