The UK today
announced new support to clear northern Sri Lanka of thousands of
mines and unexploded bombs left over from decades of fighting.
The Department for International Development will give the Mines
Advisory Group a £500,000 grant to help survey minefields and
pinpoint unexploded ordinance so they can be safely disposed of.
Mines were widely used during the conflict and are scattered
across many areas in the North and East of the country. With
DFID’s funding, MAG will be able to survey and help clear
villages, roads and agricultural land in the northern areas worst
affected by the conflict.
This funding will help many of the 280,000 displaced civilians
still living in camps can return home as quickly and safely as
possible. This contribution is the first stage of the DFID’s
three-part early recovery strategy, and will enable civilians to
return to land which is declared free from land mines and
unexploded ordnance.
DFID’s funding will help MAG clear land in the following ways:
· MAG mine detection experts will quickly survey large areas of
land. Those areas which are free of any contamination will be
identified and declared safe for civilians to return.
· Lightly contaminated areas will be surveyed using armoured
excavators which will quickly clear any mines or unexploded ordinance.
· The remaining heavily mined areas will be clearly marked so no
one can enter them by accident. These areas can be returned to at
a later date and the painstaking work of manual mine clearance can begin.
MAG is one of the first organisations allowed access to the
northern conflict zones since the fighting stopped.
International Development Minster Mike Foster said:
“Mines and unexploded munitions pose a deadly threat for any
civilian trying to return home and rebuild their lives.
“The safe return of civilians would not be possible without the
work of agencies like MAG. After 26 years of conflict, removing
the threat from land mines and deadly unexploded bombs is a start
on the long road to normality.
“As soon as an area is cleared of mines, the UK stands ready to
help civilians travel back home and start to recover their lives
and livelihoods.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Department for International Development has committed £12.5
million in emergency aid to Sri Lanka, which is providing a vital
lifeline of food, medicine and shelter for the hundreds of
thousands of civilians still living in the camps. £3 million will
be used for humanitarian de-mining, enabling returns and
livelihoods recovery activities.
Contacts:
Michael Haig.
Phone: 020 70230423
m-haig@dfid.gov.uk
Juliet Bonnot
Phone: 020 70230600
j-bonnot@dfid.gov.uk