Huambo – At least 1,872 unexploded ordnances have been removed and destroyed this year in central Huambo Province by the National Demining Institute (INAD), compared to 156 extracted in 2021, ANGOP has learnt.
Castro Kapanda, INAD acting director in that region, said the increase of removed and destroyed devices results from awareness actions carried out with the population, focusing on reporting any suspicious object, both in the communities and agricultural fields.
Kapanda added that three people died and 13 others were seriously injured, as a result of mining accidents, which occurred this year inside Caála, Chicala-Cholohanga and Huambo municipalities.
The INAD official explained that seven accidents of this kind had been notified in 2021 resulting in four deaths and 21 seriously injured.
According to the official, between January to December, INAD and partners have cleared 122,000 square metres of surface through the removal of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, in areas transformed into agricultural fields and also the implementation of projects of socio-economic impact.
With an area of 35,771 square kilometres, comprising 11 municipalities, 37 communes, and 3,387 villages, Huambo Province, which is home to more than 2.6 million inhabitants, has already been considered as one of the regions of the country with high rate of suspected areas of landmines due to the armed conflict.
