Today is demolition day. Well I suppose every day is demolition day, but today promises to be a big one. We have been given permission to use part of a quarry used by GTZ (the company that rebuilt much of the road from Kapoeta to Torit a year ago) to excavate materials for road building.
MAG often helps GTZ, clearing suspected areas and dealing with items they find when building roads, so I guess this was a favour in return. It is an excellent site for demolitions as it is remote and the pits that have been dug will help reduce the chances of fragmentation in the surrounding area from the demolition.
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| The MAG Mine Action Team working around Torrit with items found in the grounds of a school |
Before heading to the demolition site we dealt with some more tasks in Torit, including two mortar bombs and two rockets at the John Garang memorial school, and eight mortars in the cemetery.
Then a convoy of MAG vehicles slowly drove to the demolition site with two trailers full of ordnance. The explosive items were placed on sand in such a way that fuses could not possibly be knocked – so it was very safe.
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| Preparing for demolition... |
The majority of items found can be picked up and moved, but it takes an experienced expert like Ivica Stillin to know what is safe to move and what is not.
Certain kinds of ordnance like cluster bomb submunitions can never be moved. If an item has been fired and has failed to explode, it can’t be moved. If a fuse has been damaged in any way, it can’t be moved, etc, etc. Those items have to be blown in situ.
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| Hundreds of items were found in just a few days |
The demolition took a long time to organise because there were hundreds of items. All found in a few days. Unbelievable. After all the items had been correctly positioned and the explosive charges prepared we headed to a safe place to watch the explosion – two kilometres away. After all the safety checks, we saw a massive flash and blast of dirt and smoke erupt in the distance followed by a huge explosion. A great way to end the week. Very satisfying indeed.
It was great to see all the elements of mine action work so well together, as Ivica explained: “We need the trained technicians, we need medics, we need vehicles and we need equipment to do this work. We also need the Community Liaison teams. Without them I am blind and the work would be ineffective.”
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| A great way to end the week |
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