[ToloNews] Almost 120 civilians are affected by mines and unwent kaboom!ordnance every month as they are either killed or maimed, the State Minister for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs, Najib Aqa Fahim, said at a ceremony on 17 Years of Turning Minefields into Vineyards Kabul on Thursday.
He said 3,400 square kilometers of land has been cleared of mines and unwent
kaboom!ordnance but 1,700 square kilometers is still to be cleared.
Fahim said four people are killed and maimed in incidents related to mines and unwent
kaboom!ordnance.
"The coalition forces who withdrew from Afghanistan, have left some areas with unwent
kaboom!ordnance, the areas where they had military training and in conflicted areas," said Fahim.
He said the international community’s support has decreased in this sector.
Toby Lanzer, Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, meanwhile, called on the warring parties not to leave their under-control areas with unwent
kaboom!ordnance.
"My call really is on all of the parties to abide by their obligations. The latest obligation in this regard, of course, is the certain conventional weapons’ convention," Lanzer said.
Addressing the event, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah
... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun...said a budget will be allocated for demining efforts next year.
"Leaving no unwent
kaboom!ordnance after a mission or fight is quite important," said Abdullah.
This comes as a team of 13 female members in Bamiyan
...a place in Afghanistan that used to have some historically interesting statues of the Buddha carved into a mountainside. Then the holy men showed up and now all they have is some big holes...
province has started clearance campaign of mines and unwent
kaboom!ordnance.
The women said they started the task after seeing women, children and youth losing their body parts due to kabooms.
"It is not an easy task, in each moment there is fear. When you fight with the enemy, you know when the enemy will come and when will attack, but mine is a hidden enemy, it comes from underground and you do not know it," said Fatima, a member of the team.
"We serve the country and defuse mines to save the lives of children and people," said Mamlakat, another member of the team.