Sudan People's Lives In Jeopardy Over Landmines, Explosives

KHARTOUM, May 8 (KUNA) -- UN officials and mine experts sounded the alarm that landmines and explosives pose a mounting risk to Sudanese civilians' lives and hamper humanitarian aid delivery amid ongoing clashes between army and paramilitary forces.
With infighting still raging on between Sudanese army forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), demining teams and groups are facing serious security and logistical challenges that hinder their efforts and expand polluted areas, representing a stumbling block to recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Speaking to KUNA, Director General of Sudan's National Mine Action Center (NMAC) Maj. Gen. Khalid Hamdan said that 40 explosion incidents, caused by either mines or explosive remnants of war (ERW), have been reported since last April.
He estimated that these incidents have left at least 16 people dead and more than 50 others injured in the states of Khartoum, River Nile, Al-Jazirah and Singa, adding that demining operations were underway in Khartoum, Al Jazirah, White Nile and North Kordofan.
He added that the NMAC has recently launched eight new demining teams in Khartoum, Al Jazirah, North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Sinar states, in addition to five existing groups, bringing the total number of field teams to 13.
However, Hamdan complained that demining efforts are facing serious challenges, primarily the loss of vehicles and equipment due to ongoing infighting, pollution and lack of financing.
"We still need to train more workers and to obtain governmental and foreign backing, given that demining operations are so costly that major capabilities are required," he lamented.
Regarding international support, he said that technical and financial aid has been suspended since the eruption of war between army and paramilitary forces.
The chief of the Sudanese National Mine Action Center (NMAC) said the center needs approximately USD 90 million in aid this year, while the donors have only pledged a total of USD 10 million.
He explained that though the center has no accurate statistics of mines and ERWs, its field teams have so far managed to detonate more than 13,000 OUX shells, prepared 4,000 others for detonation and handled over 37,000 small munitions, in Omdurman, the western part of the capital.
Sudanese authorities expect more explosion incidents to take place due to the wide-scale spread of landmines and ERWs in Al-Fasher City, the capital of North Darfur State, amid ongoing hostilities between the country's two main military rivals.
Meanwhile, the UN Department of Safety and Security said central Khartoum would remain closed for relief agencies until January 2026 owing to mines and ERWs as a result of the raging conflict.
Demining experts estimated that 10 percent of live ammunition in Sudan has not been exploded, mostly centered nearly the airport and Presidential Palace, where UN offices are located.
Chief of the Mine Action Program in Sudan Sediq Rashid cautioned against escalating risks with the return of internally displaced persons to polluted areas, noting that mines could be either visible or hidden under the rubric of houses and squares.
"The danger is very high...used munitions have not been designed for use in populate areas," Rashid warned.
The United Nations (UN) has recorded fatal incidents involving the death of internally displaced children and women, not to mention the death of at least 10 civilians due to the explosion of an antitank mine in Shendi City in northern Sudan.
However, the Sudanese National Mine Action Center (NMAC) has been doing its best to raise public awareness of landmines and unexploded devices by means of deploying demining teams in safe states since November, and organizing training workshops for 90 young people in Omdurman, the center's chief concluded. (end) mah

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