Thousands of antipersonnel mines destroyed

Engineers in the Republic of the Congo are due to destroy 1,870 antipersonnel landmines on Wednesday in the country's second largest city, Pointe-Noire, the official heading the project, Leonce Nkabi, said. On Tuesday, engineers destroyed 3,350 antipersonnel mines in Djiri, an area 23 km north of the nation's capital, Brazzaville. However, Nkabi said 372 mines would be kept for training personnel in landmine detection and disposal. Canada has paid for the destruction of the mines. At Tuesday's ceremony, the Congolese minister of state for defence, Yvon Ndolou, expressed hope that Canada would continue this effort in the southeast of the country, bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. Engineers will now sweep the zone of Kimongo, in the southwestern Department of Niari, for mines. In May, both Congo's undertook to destroy all their antipersonnel landmines, in line with the Ottawa Convention on the eradication of the devices.