Landmines
The US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said that the US Government is collaborating with Ethiopia in a “Groundbreaking De-mining Initiative” to support the later to be free of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and improving the safety of civilians and boost agricultural productivity.
The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia’s Office of Security Cooperation and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) launched a historic collaboration with the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO) January 15. From January 15-19, a team from the DOD’s Humanitarian Demining Training Center and the U.S. Department of State’s Weapons Removal and Abatement program will work with the EMAO to conduct a Requirements Development Site Survey, the Embassy underscores in a statement today.
“Landmines, unexploded artillery shells, and other types of remnants of war litter former battlefields throughout Ethiopia, resulting in accidental civilian deaths and hindering farmers from returning to their fields. These explosive remnants of war (ERW) imperil safety, threaten livelihoods, and hinders the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) of former combatants.” It added.
The survey will help identify the scale of the explosive remnants of war contamination throughout Ethiopia, with the ultimate goal of improving civilian safety and agricultural productivity in affected regions.
US Promised Subsequent Assistance In Landmine Clearing
The primary objective of this exercise was to formulate a series of requirements for the EMAO, aligning them with available DoD and DoS resources. A subsequent delivery of equipment, training, and additional resources will take place within the next six months.
Present at the occasion, Head of the Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO), Brigadier General Taddese Amelo, indicated that his office has been working with the responsibility of de-mining war remnants for more than 20 years.
He commended that the collaboration with the U.S. Embassy will have a significant importance to the realization of the de-mining process in a more effective manner.
Major Nathan Jolls, Head of Office of Security Cooperation of the Embassy, on his part expressed his contentment to witness the various activities being undertaken by EMAO, and expressed his conviction that the cooperation will be further bolstered in the future.
For 120 years, the United States and Ethiopia have partnered in health and education, agriculture and food security, science and the environment, security, and many other areas to improve the lives of all Ethiopians, the Embassy indicated.
2 million Estimated Landmines
It was recalled that last November, Ethiopia appealed for international assistance to overcome the potentially lethal effects of its estimated 2 million landmines. The Ethiopian Mine Action Office (EMAO) indicated that it was seeking US $19 million over the next three years to combat the threat.
Ethiopia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world – the legacy of successive conflicts over the last 70 years that have ravaged the Horn of Africa. And the scale of landmine contamination in Ethiopia is enormous. Under current plans, the government believes it will take two decades to rid the country of Landmines. The funding would support victims of Landmine blasts and help with a mine-risk education programme for 500,000 people.
EMAO envisaged to boost activities along its northern border to clear mines left over from its bitter two-year conflict with Eritrea. Mine clearance began after a bilateral peace deal was signed in December 2000, but casualties – particularly among shepherd boys – regularly occur.
EMAO, which was set up in early 2001, aims to eliminate that threat. Working with the United Nations and anti-landmine organisations, appeales for funding from the international community.