Landmines pose threat to civilians on the move

More than 20 years of war in Afghanistan has left a terrible landmine legacy that poses a risk to civilians fleeing increased hostilities in the country.

"People moving out of the major cities into the countryside could be killed or maimed in unmarked minefields, " the head of UN Mine Action Service, Martin Barber, told journalists in New York on Tuesday. "People approaching border crossing points which are not regularly used are also at risk," he added.

Barber's remarks came after four Afghan NGO personnel working on UN land mine programmes were killed when a missile or bomb struck their office in the Afghan capital, Kabul, an action over which UN Security Council members expressed great regret in New York today.

Barber said that the displaced also faced risks after reaching their final destination. "When people arrive in an area and start looking around for firewood and water supplies they also come across mines and unexploded ordinance," he said.

He also said that the upsurge in fighting and new types of bombardment created an increased danger of unexploded ordinance. "A percentage of ordinance dropped or fired will not function and that constitutes a risk to the civilian population in the area," Barber said.

He added that new ground fighting could also lead to a situation causing more mines to be laid.

"The Taliban issued a statement a couple of years ago saying that they would not use mines in the future... we would very much hope to see a statement from all parties to the present conflict indicating that they will not use landmines," Barber said.

Handicap International has said the US food drops, which are being carried out in tandem with air strikes against selected targets, may inadvertently expose populations to the landmine danger. To reduce the risk of US transport planes being shot down by Taliban forces the aircraft could be flying too high to make an accurate drop.

"There's no real control of where the supplies are going to land," Handicap International Director Christopher Cushing said. " As the population moves towards them they may not know where all the safe areas are and could be exposed to landmines.