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Sri Lanka Army

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UK Supports Mine Clearance in Sri Lanka

THE UK THURSDAY announced new support to clear northern Sri Lanka of thousands of mines and unexploded bombs left over from decades of fighting, British Government’s News Distribution Service said on its web edition.

It said: "The Department for International Development will give the Mines Advisory Group a £500,000 grant to help survey minefields and pinpoint unexploded ordinance so they can be safely disposed of.

Mines were widely used during the conflict and are scattered across many areas in the North and East of the country. With DFID’s funding, MAG will be able to survey and help clear villages, roads and agricultural land in the northern areas worst affected by the conflict.

This funding will help many of the 280,000 displaced civilians still living in camps return home as quickly and safely as possible. This contribution is the first stage of the DFID’s three-part early recovery strategy, and will enable civilians to return to land which is declared free from land mines and unexploded ordnance.

DFID’s funding will help MAG clear land in the following ways:

MAG mine detection experts will quickly survey large areas of land.  Those areas which are free of any contamination will be identified and declared safe for civilians to return.

Lightly contaminated areas will be surveyed using armoured excavators which will quickly clear any mines or unexploded ordinance.

The remaining heavily mined areas will be clearly marked so no one can enter them by accident. These areas can be returned to at a later date and the painstaking work of manual mine clearance can begin.

MAG is one of the first organisations allowed access to the northern conflict zones since the fighting stopped.

International Development Minster Mike Foster said:

"Mines and unexploded munitions pose a deadly threat for any civilian trying to return home and rebuild their lives.

"The safe return of civilians would not be possible without the work of agencies like MAG.  After 26 years of conflict, removing the threat from land mines and deadly unexploded bombs is a start on the long road to normality.

"As soon as an area is cleared of mines, the UK stands ready to help civilians travel back home and start to recover their lives and livelihood."
(Courtesy : The Island)