Khartoum, April 5(Darfur24) The UNITED NATIONS INTEGRATED TRANSITION ASSISTANCE MISSION IN SUDAN UNITAMS revealed that the number of victims of mines and unexploded ordnance in Sudan until this April amounted to 2572 people.
Speaking on behalf of the SRSG and head of UNITAMS, Mr. Volker Perthes, at the event that was held at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, Mr. Mohammad Sediq Rashid, Chief Mine Action Programme, pointed out to Sudan’s remaining explosive ordnance contamination that is known so far, and the contamination that is likely to be discovered in the areas that remains inaccessible for humanitarian Mine Action.
In statement on the occasion of the International Day for Awareness of the Risks of Mine and War Remnants, UNITAMS referred to the cooperation between the Mine Action Department, Unitams, and the National Mine Action Authority to reduce the risks of explosive devices.
The statement indicated that the center, in coordination with the United Nations Office for Mine Action, organized a celebration, on Tuesday, in the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, on the occasion of the International Awareness of the dangers of mines and war remnants.
In a report, UNITAMS noted that the teams recently discovered 255 dangerous areas for the presence of confirmed or probable explosive ordnance.
The clearance teams also found 32 anti-personnel mines, 14 anti-tank mines, 249.76 pieces of ammunition for small arms, and 2,347 pieces of unexploded ordnance, all of which were destroyed.
The mission pointed out that 95 survivors of explosive ordnance accidents, their families and persons with disabilities received comprehensive assistance.
This year’s International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action was observed under the theme and campaign, “Mine Action Cannot Wait.”
National Mine Action Authority and UNMAS UNITAMS facilitated commemorating this international day on Tuesday 4th of April 2023, in Khartoum but also in the explosive ordnance affected states of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Darfur.
According to the mission, the Government of Sudan submitted a request to extend the deadline for commitment to mine clearance, noting the extension of the period at the Twentieth Meeting of States Parties, until April 2027, to complete the clearance of all mine-contaminated areas in the country.