70pc of Kandahar areas cleared of landmines

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): Nearly 70 percent areas have been cleared of landmines in southern Kandahar province, but more work is needed to be done to secure people’s lives from the deadly weapons, officials said on Tuesday.

Representatives from the United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan (UNMACA), Handicap International (HI), the Demining Agency for Afghanistan (DAFA), the Mine Clearance Planning Agency (MCPA), Mine Detection Center, SDA and HALO Trust attended a gathering marking the International Day of Mine Awareness in the governor’s office in Kandahar City.

UNMACA operational head in the south, Abdul Sami, said 70 percent of the land in Kandahar had been cleared of landmines, thanks to different demining orgnaisations, but still more work was needed to clear all the areas and ensure the safety of people. He said modern equipment and good safety trainings had reduced casualties among de-miners.

The host of the gathering, Deputy Kandahar Governor Abdul Ali Shamsi said landmines were a big threat to people’s lives and deminers endangered their lives to save the lives of people.

He also called on militants to shun emplacing landmines in different areas of the country and pay attention to the lives of people.

He awarded appreciation letters to representatives and heads of demining organizations and praised their struggle. He asked them to accelerate their activities to protect the lives of people from the deadly weapons.

myn/ma