The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that since 1989, almost 57,000 Afghan civilians have been killed or injured by landmines. OCHA added that mine action partners in Afghanistan have cleared over 19 million items.
However, on International Day for Mine Awareness & Assistance, OCHA stressed that more than 4,150 identified hazards remain, posing a lethal threat to communities, in particular children in Afghanistan.
In previous reports, according to the United Nations, 150 people are killed by land mines in Afghanistan each month. Eight out of every 10 victims are children who inadvertently pick up an unexploded ordnance, some of which resemble toys.
Decades of conflict have littered Afghanistan with land mines and other explosive remnants of war. As a result, today the country is one of the most contaminated in the world. Without de-mining, Afghans harmed by decades of war cannot build themselves a safe future in their country. Without effective de-mining operations, farming cannot happen, internally displaced people cannot return to their villages, and education cannot be effective as children cannot go to school.
The Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan (MAPA) was established in 1989.
