Despite progress, more funds needed for mine clearance

Yemen will be declared landmine-free in time for a March 2009 deadline, but only if the country’s Mine Action Centre (MAC) receives enough support to implement its second five-year plan, the MAC chairman said on Monday. "We have a five-year plan, from 2005 to 2009, which aims to declare Yemen free of landmines by March 2009, said Col Mansour al-Ezzi, chairman of the MAC, which is financed mainly by the US government. He added, however, that the target could only be met if the centre receives funding enough to reorganise its current structure and add new technical survey teams to its operations. In 1979, more than one million landmines were planted along the border between the north and south of the divided country during conflicts preceding unification in 1990. According to al-Ezzi, another 150,000 antipersonnel mines were planted during a 1994 civil war, when the southern half of the south Arabian nation attempted to secede from the north. According to official figures, unexploded mines kill or injure between four and five civilians every month. Between 1998 and September 2005, the MAC recorded 5,316 mine victims, 2,916 of whom died as a result of their injuries. The majority of the rest were left permanently disabled. Most victims are women, children, shepherds and travellers in rural areas. In an effort to address the problem, the MAC is devoted to de-mining the four most heavily mined areas of the country. “We’re divided into teams for demining, unexploded ordnance, victim assistance and public awareness,” explained al-Ezzi. Eight teams of dogs specially trained in mine detection are due to start surveying in the Addale and Ibb governorates next year. Since 2004, the MAC has also offered job training and medical support, providing victims with prosthetic limbs, wheel chairs and hearing aids. So far, the MAC’s mine-clearing operations have made considerable progress in ridding the country of the deadly devices. "We’ve finished clearing mines from the high impact areas, and now we’re left with the medium and low impact areas," said al-Ezzi. He added that more than 230 million square metres of the total affected area – estimated at 922 million square metres – had been cleared to date. The MAC is due to sign an agreement with the Canadian government this week, whereby the latter will provide $200,000 for de-mining activities in the four governorates of Sana'a, Lahj, Al-Dhale'e and Ibb. In October, the Japanese government contributed $520,000 to the centre’s efforts, while the French government provided it with euro 250,000 in June of last year. Despite this largesse, however, Al-Ezzi said the centre still needs more support to meet the 2009 target date.