Cunhinga – At least 1.7 million square meters of land have been cleared of mines from January to September in central Bié in an effort to increase cultivation and housing areas, the local representative of the National Mine Action Agency (ANAM) Ismael Brito has said.
The ANAM representative disclosed the data, while presenting the demining process to the members of the Bureau of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Issues in Central Africa (UNSAC) in Cunhinga municipality.
Ismael Brito revealed that the area had been cleared of 12 anti-tank mines, 17 anti-personnel mines, 348 unexploded ordnance and 100 rounds of ammunition of various calibers.
Brito added that at least four accidents with mines were recorded this year , resulting in the deaths of six people and 13 injured and that a demining of 25 areas is currently being carried out, while 355 have been completed, 96 surveyed and 11 suspended.
According to Ismael Brito, during the period in question 33,770 people, including children and adults were taught about the danger of mines in the nine municipalities that make up the province.
He stressed the huge impact the demining process has had in the municipalities of Cuito, Andulo, Cunhinga, Camacupa and Cuemba, especially in the areas where social facilities and crop fields will be built.
The National Demining Centre (CND), the demining brigade of the operational group of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and the British non-governmental organization “The Halo Trust” took part in this process.
On Tuesday, the members of the Bureau of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Issues in Central Africa , as part of their three-day visit to Bié province, went to the municipalities of Camacupa and Catabola, with the aim of analyzing rice cultivation on the Arrozal farm, the agro-industrial farm, peace prize ceramics, as well as the seedling center. AS/PLB/AMP
