Over 200,000 square meters of land were cleared from landmines in south Angola’s province of Bie by the National Demining Institute (INAD) since the start of this year, the head of the institute Jose Virgilio Chalissala has said.
INAD team member engaged in demining activity
INAD and its national and international partners removed and destroyed 85 unexploded explosive devices in the province, among them anti-tank mines, anti-personnel mines, mortars, D30 projectiles, rockets, hand grenades and others, the official told the press on Thursday.
The mine-free zone will now be used to build various social and economic infrastructure in the province, which was badly affected by a civil war that lasted nearly three decades in the southern African country since 1975 till 2002.
INAD’s project isn’t the only landmine clearing effort taking place in the country.
A Belgian non-governmental organization, the Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development, known by its acronym, APOPO, cleared 1.47 million square meters of land near the village of Quitexe, which is located in northwestern Angola about 39 kilometers south of the provincial capital city of Uíge.
Organizers of that effort say the work helps local villagers by making fertile lands safe for farming and trade. Transport routes have also been reopened because of the effort.
The Uíge government says it can now proceed with plans to build a new municipal hospital in the area now that the landmines no longer present a threat.
Since 2002, more than $500 million were spent by the Angolan government to clear more than 2,000 minefields all over the country.
Recent clearance operations have raised hopes the country will be free of landmines by the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) deadline of 2025.
