Government appeals for mine-clearance funding

Ethiopia appealed on Wednesday for more help to overcome the potentially lethal effects of its estimated 2 million landmines. The Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO) is seeking US $19 million over the next three years to combat the threat. Ethiopia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world – the legacy of successive conflicts over the last 70 years that have ravaged the Horn of Africa. And the scale of landmine contamination in Ethiopia is enormous. Under current plans, the government believes it will take two decades to rid the country of landmines. The funding would support victims of landmine blasts and help with a mine-risk education programme for 500,000 people. EMAO is looking to boost activities along its northern border to clear mines left over from its bitter two-year conflict with Eritrea. Mine clearance began after a bilateral peace deal was signed in December 2000, but casualties – particularly among shepherd boys – regularly occur. Currently four companies are clearing mines in the northern Tigray and Afar regions. EMAO is now seeking to engage the services of two additional companies to work in manual mine clearance, as well as funding for three specialised dog teams, seven rapid response teams and mechanical flailing machines. Aid agencies have warned that landmines are still hampering attempts to move home families who fled during the bloody conflict. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has said families still fear the potential threat from residual landmines. "Many of these war displaced are unlikely to fully reintegrate into their communities and attain self-sufficiency unless the frontier is demarcated, their lands demined and security ensured," NRC said. EMAO, which was set up in early 2001, aims to eliminate that threat. Working with the United Nations and anti-landmine organisations, it has appealed for funding from the international community. An appeal was also made at the UN General Assembly last week when Ethiopia warned of the enormous obstacles posed by the millions of landmines. Teruneh Zenna, the deputy permanent representative at the UN, said landmines and unexploded ordnance posed a major threat to the country. "The magnitude of Ethiopia's mine contamination and the socioeconomic impact of that situation put the country among those requiring close attention," he said. "Substantial resources would be needed to sustain and expand mine action at the national level," he added.