The Humanitarian Demining Unit (HDU) of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) received four trucks from the people of the United States, rugged vehicles that will aid their demining efforts in the North and East.
Major General Ubaya Medawala and Brigadier Udayantha Wijeratne received the donation at the American Embassy from U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Patricia Butenis on Wednesday. (20)
Ambassador Butenis said that “these trucks will be used to transport your skilled and brave deminers to areas where they are needed most. The landmines scattered around the North and East of Sri Lanka have meant that families cannot return to their homes and livelihoods.”
She added, “Thanks, however, to the efforts of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan and international demining organizations, large swaths of the North and East are now cleared of mines, and such dangers can be put to rest. There is still work to be done, and these trucks will help transport members of the demining unit to difficult-to-reach areas in order to perform their duties.”
Army spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala said, “The Army has now entered a difficult stage in its demining program as troops begin to enter terrain with constraints. The government has so far cleared 358,588 mines from a 3971-square kilometer area in the North. Only around 300 square kilometers of land remain to be cleared of mines, and once that is complete, the remaining people displaced by the war can be resettled.”
In 2010, the United States Government donated five ambulances and four Toyota Hilux double cabs to the Sri Lanka Humanitarian Demining Unit. Since the summer of 2009, the United States has contributed more than $10 million to fund, equip, and train the Sri Lankan Army and international humanitarian demining organizations. Recently, and American non-profit organization, the Marshall Legacy, donated six demining dogs. (Courtesy - US Embassy Press Release)
Major General Ubaya Medawala and Brigadier Udayantha Wijeratne received the donation at the American Embassy from U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives Patricia Butenis on Wednesday. (20)
Ambassador Butenis said that “these trucks will be used to transport your skilled and brave deminers to areas where they are needed most. The landmines scattered around the North and East of Sri Lanka have meant that families cannot return to their homes and livelihoods.”
She added, “Thanks, however, to the efforts of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan and international demining organizations, large swaths of the North and East are now cleared of mines, and such dangers can be put to rest. There is still work to be done, and these trucks will help transport members of the demining unit to difficult-to-reach areas in order to perform their duties.”
Army spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala said, “The Army has now entered a difficult stage in its demining program as troops begin to enter terrain with constraints. The government has so far cleared 358,588 mines from a 3971-square kilometer area in the North. Only around 300 square kilometers of land remain to be cleared of mines, and once that is complete, the remaining people displaced by the war can be resettled.”
In 2010, the United States Government donated five ambulances and four Toyota Hilux double cabs to the Sri Lanka Humanitarian Demining Unit. Since the summer of 2009, the United States has contributed more than $10 million to fund, equip, and train the Sri Lankan Army and international humanitarian demining organizations. Recently, and American non-profit organization, the Marshall Legacy, donated six demining dogs. (Courtesy - US Embassy Press Release)
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