The United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA) has announced plans to clear a total of 1,800,000 square metres of land in Bamiyan contaminated with mines and unexploded ordinance (UXOs) by October, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the UN.
The historic city of Bamiyan contains a number of Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. It is also where the Taliban destroyed two standing Buddha statues in March 2001.
The mine-clearance project will exclude four sites which have been declared as cultural heritage sites by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and need to be cleared with the cooperation of archaeologists.
Abdul Qader Qayoumi, the head of UNMACA in Bamiyan, said: “After receiving authorization from the Ministry of Information and Culture we will start clearing the four cultural heritage sites.”
Nearly 500 de-mining personnel, most of them from Afghan Technical Consultants (ATC), an Afghan non-governmental organization (NGO), are working to clear Bamiyan from landmines and UXOs, according to a spokesperson of the UN.
Since the beginning of April, already 104 anti-personnel mines and 169 UXOs have been found and destroyed.
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and more than four million Afghans are living in mine-contaminated areas.
As a party to the global anti-landmine treaty, known as the Ottawa Convention, Afghanistan has committed itself to clear all of its landmines by 2013. With the help of the UN, some 65,361,363 square metres of land has already been cleared across the strife-torn nation.
Mr. Qayoumi said the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA), which comprises UNMACA and other partners, will start de-mining work in three other districts in Bamiyan province, namely Shibar, Saighan and Kahmard.
UNMACA
The Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan is responsible for the coordination of mine action activities in Afghanistan.
It operates under the auspices of the Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction Pillar of the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, and is a programme of the UN Mine Action Service, implemented by the UN Office for Project Services.
