Angola requires $240m (R4.48bn) from government or donor funding to clear nearly 1,000 minefields from the civil war that ended more than two decades ago, the National Mine Action Agency said.
The landmines, planted during the 27-year civil war up to 2002, have left people with disabilities and continue to cause harm. Many people remain displaced because of the minefields.
About 975 minefields need clearance and demining costs an average of $3.10 (R57.90) per square metre, meaning $240m is required, said Brig-Gen Leonardo Sapalo, the National Mine Action Agency's head.
About 192 of the minefields are in areas close to the Benguela Railway, a critical component of the Lobito Corridor — a US-backed rail project linking resource-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the port of Lobito in Angola to facilitate the export of minerals and other goods.
“The railway has been demined so it can be rehabilitated. The train runs naturally but there are specific areas that have not been completely cleared of mines,” Sapalo said during a visit by Western ambassadors to British charity the HALO Trust, which assists in landmine clearance.
“The work is not at a standstill, but we need to energise it.”
The demining process along the Lobito Corridor has already removed 43,142 anti-personnel mines, 2,460 anti-tank mines and 235,050 unexploded explosives, according to the HALO Trust.
Reuters
Angola needs $240m to clear hundreds of civil war minefields, official says
Image: Tommy Trenchard/ File photo
Angola requires $240m (R4.48bn) from government or donor funding to clear nearly 1,000 minefields from the civil war that ended more than two decades ago, the National Mine Action Agency said.
The landmines, planted during the 27-year civil war up to 2002, have left people with disabilities and continue to cause harm. Many people remain displaced because of the minefields.
About 975 minefields need clearance and demining costs an average of $3.10 (R57.90) per square metre, meaning $240m is required, said Brig-Gen Leonardo Sapalo, the National Mine Action Agency's head.
About 192 of the minefields are in areas close to the Benguela Railway, a critical component of the Lobito Corridor — a US-backed rail project linking resource-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the port of Lobito in Angola to facilitate the export of minerals and other goods.
“The railway has been demined so it can be rehabilitated. The train runs naturally but there are specific areas that have not been completely cleared of mines,” Sapalo said during a visit by Western ambassadors to British charity the HALO Trust, which assists in landmine clearance.
“The work is not at a standstill, but we need to energise it.”
The demining process along the Lobito Corridor has already removed 43,142 anti-personnel mines, 2,460 anti-tank mines and 235,050 unexploded explosives, according to the HALO Trust.
Reuters
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