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LGVN FEATURE The post war, silent, underground killer You can't see it - you can't hear it - you can't smell it - and the conflict in your country may have been over for years. But landmines are killing or seriously maiming both humans and animals in war-torn countries across the world every day. Across the world,
one person is killed every 20 minutes as a result of landmines and unexploded
bombs. This adds up to around 26,000 each year. Many hundreds are also
severely maimed every day, usually with a loss of limbs and other injuries
to major organs. Landmines are produced as "weapons of war," but only
10 percent of landmine victims are military personnel. The other 90
percent are innocent civilians - mostly women and children. Besides
the victims, millions of people are afraid to venture from their homes.
Hundreds of millions of these hidden killers lay usually invisible just
underneath the earth or covered by foliage - on roadsides, paths, fields
and woodlands Landmines lay silent and deadly across many countries of the world, and in most cases no one knows exactly where these indiscriminately strewn killers are. There are even millions of mines left over from World War 2. Although slightly easier to detect, because they were made of metal, these 60 year old mines are still killing and maiming today. Modern mines are very hard to find because they are made of undetectable plastics and alloys. For example in Angola the legacy of war, which finished in 2002, has left nearly five million hard-to-detect landmines scattered across the country. 16% of "bomblets" released from cluster bombs don't explode on impact. Post war Iraq is now littered with these small cylinders as they continue to maim and kill - usually children, who pick them up to play with. There is a variety
of landmine based charities which deal with various aspects of the problem.
The Halo Trust specialize in the removal of the debris of war and have
over 4,850 mineclearers in 9 countries. Their operations are always
increasing. Adopt-A-Landmine do a similar job and run mine action projects
in 6 countries. Animal victims of landmines Millions of animals are also killed and maimed by landmines. In the pre 9-11 Afghan war, Afghans suffered a total loss of more than 75,000 animals due to mines ... more than 50% of the total number of livestock. These numbers are comparable to many war-torn countries across the world. Unfortunately less compassionate people even use animals to explode mines in their fields In 1997 a report
said that Bosnian locals were letting sheep loose in unsafe areas as
a barbaric method of exploding the mines. Animal deaths from mines source: Project Mkono Links:
. This article last updated or added to in: March 2005
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