MAG steps up its clearance efforts in Sri Lanka

As the Government of Sri Lanka feel that an end to the war is in sight, areas of land are now being released for mine clearance.

The Government has stated its intention to return 80 per cent of the displaced people by December 2009, while publicly acknowledging that Humanitarian Mine Action will be an important requirement in the process.

In response to the expected return of the internally displaced population, MAG has moved additional assets from Batticaloa, in the East of the country, to the district of Mannar in the north west. MAG now has three teams conducting Community Liaison (CL) surveys. One Mechanical Team and one team of deminers are deployed to conduct technical surveys. Read more ...

MAG Sri Lanka - programme update

Reporting Period: 1 February - 30 April 2009
Activities & Outputs Summary:
- Commenced operations in support of IDP returns in northern Sri Lanka
- Completed eight survey tasks in Mannar District, including survey of five villages in support of the planned return of families displaced by conflict
- Search and clearance of a total of 58,773m2 of land through a combination of Battle Area Clearance, manual and mechanical techniques in Batticaloa District
- Removal of 12 anti-personnel mines and three items of unexploded ordnance (UXO)
- These activities benefitted a total of 1,060 families
Read more ...