At sunrise we all headed east to Kiyala where there was a life-threatening emergency task at a clinic that urgently needed to be dealt with. We reached our destination in just over an hour. Community Liaison (CL) staff had produced a dangerous area report when they recently visited the clinic and had photographed the suspect item. Ivica thought it looked like the nose of a Rockeye cluster bomb submunition.
“These are very sensitive and dangerous devices. In the nose there is a crystal mechanism. When it breaks, a charge is released that sets of the munition. The slightest knock can set it off,” he said.
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| Patients, doctors and nurses stand in safety behind Kiyala clinic as MAG Technical Field Mananger Ivica Stilin sets of the charge to destroy the bomlet on the other side of the building |
His suspicions proved to be correct. The nose of the Rockeye was sticking out of the ground just a few metres from the clinic. The ECHO-funded clinic was surrounded by people waiting for treatment – mostly mothers with their babies.
I spoke to a medic called Dishano, who was taking blood from children to test for malaria. “We are so glad to see you guys here,” he said. “We have been very worried about this object and thought it was just a matter of time before someone stood on it, or a kid played with it, even though we put some thorns around the place. There are a lot of dangerous things around and you guys are badly-needed. We have lost a lot of people here since the war ended and many people fear the land.”
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| People told MAG about other dangerous items, including these projectiles underneath and inside a tank in the centre of town |
Sandbags were placed around the Rockeye to make sure no shrapnel would damage the building. He checked with his team that everyone was at a safe distance – all the staff and patients were now safely on the other side of the clinic. Then he placed the charge next to the body of the munition.
Ivica tested the continuity of the firing cable and attached the electric detonator. The detonator was carefully fixed to the detonating cord and then Ivica retreated to the firing point. The safety cordon was checked again.
The explosion reverberated around the town and the Rockeye was safely destroyed.
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| An armoured car filled with fused mines and shells in the centre of town. Houses were all around, the nearest only three metres away |
Within minutes of the explosion, a man approached the team and explained that there were lots of bombs in the town centre. Once the team had packed up we went to investigate. An old but formidable-looking tank was in the middle of town right next to the market. The team were shown four shells under the tank. They took them away.
Then we were taken about 40 metres through some shops and houses to an old armoured car. There were houses all around. The nearest was three metres away. And it was overflowing with anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines and all sorts of ordnance. There were thousands of items.
One spark and hundreds of houses and their occupants would be gone. Unfortunately it was too big a job for the team to do on the spot – the authorities would be called, and our CL staff would discuss the best solution.
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| A 200kg aircraft bomb close to a school in Murahathiga |
Understandably, stockpiles of weapons – even ones like this, open to the elements and almost certainly unusable – are a sensitive issue for the military. MAG therefore always discusses the action to be taken with the appropriate authorities.
Often the army will send an officer with us when we deal with stockpiles. Together we decide what is beyond use and destroy it – which is normally the vast majority of items. Ammunition judged as still ‘usable’ is taken away by soldiers to their military barracks.
When carrying out the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) in this area, these problems had not been reported. It was the explosion that gave people confidence that something will be done about the problem and therefore worth reporting. This is often the way it happens.
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| 'Rockeye' cluster bomblets are very sensitive and very dangerous indeed. The nose was pointing out of the ground. One slight knock could have set it off. Here the Technical Field Mananger, Ivica Stilin, carefully places an explosive charge next to it. Sandbags have been placed to make sure the nearby clinic isn't damaged in the demolition |
The afternoon continued in similar fashion. We were shown a 250kg aircraft bomb next to the main road and another one next to a school in nearby Murahathiga. Kids were playing right next to the bomb. The MAT also took away two BM21 122mm rockets next to the main road. These were all items previously identified by CL.
The two big bombs were dealt with the following week. Discussions are ongoing in relation to the stockpile. All the other items were taken back to Torit for safe demolition.
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