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- Of Sudan’s 26 states, it is believed that landmines affect 21 states, with the majority occurring in the southern part of country. The most heavily contaminated counties in South Sudan are: Blue Nile, Upper Nile, Jonglei, East Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Lakes County, West Equatoria and West Bahr al Ghazal.
- The UN has estimated that between 500,000 to 2 million landmines lie over an uncharted 10 Million hectares of land. Of the total estimated number of landmines and UXOs (grenades, mortars, cluster bomblets and unexploded munitions) in Sudan, approximately 40 different types lie hidden in the ground.
- Over 10 casualties occur per day, in southern Sudan.
- To date, landmines and ERWs in Sudan have caused 70,000 amputations and more than 70,000 deaths. 80% of these casualties resulted from explosive remnants of anti-tank mines, while 20% were caused by antipersonnel mines. A 1/3 of all landmine fatalities have been children.
- Explosive remnants of war (ERW) are defined as all unexploded weapons, that is, weapons that have been used or fired but that have failed to explode as intended (unexploded ordnance or UXO). These are left behind on battlefields after hostilities have ended, armed and volatile and ready to explode at the slightest trigger. They pose a very real and serious threat to civilians as they can lie for decades, whole or partially hidden by vegetation, or in many cases, buried in the ground, unstable and ready to explode. ERW are particularly dangerous due to their large explosive power and metal fragmentation casing. This is capable of killing or severely maiming anyone at a distance from the blast. They consist of artillery shells, mortar shells, hand grenades, rockets, airdropped bombs, missiles and cluster munitions.
- Sudan has a long history that can be traced back to Biblical times when it was known as “Cush”
Links:
Electronic Mine Information Network – [http://www.mineaction.org]
Gurtong Peace Project –[ http://www.gurtong.org/]
“Joint clearance of landmines in southern Sudan”, IRIN, 10 August 2004.
Mines Advisory Group website [http://www.mag.org.uk] – photographs
Ministry of Land, Housing and Public Utilities Website, Government of Southern Sudan.
Monthly Report of OSIL, March 2000
Quarterly Report, Sudan Emergency Mine Action Programme, IMSMA 2005.
Sudan: FAO Country Profiles and Mapping Information System. [http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/maps.asp?iso3=SDN&lang=en]
Sudan for OSIL – Sudan (Operation Save Innocent Lives-Sudan), Working Paper, CAMEO 2005.
Sudan Landmine Monitor Report 2001
Sudan Landmine Monitor Report 2004
Sudan Statitics, UNICEF 2006. [http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sudan_statistics.html]
United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Landmine Monitor Report, 2005. [http://www.icbl.org/lm/2005/appendices/unmas.html]
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Photos credited to CAMEO & MAG websites.
OSIL is a registered NGO in both Kenya (OP. 218/051/0065/2277) and South Sudan where it is the national mine action organization.
Site Development by Dale Pilote. Design by Catherine Mbithi-Myer. |
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