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An excavator is used to search through the remains of houses in Yohmor, 2007. |
A high level delegation from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has visited MAG in Lebanon.
Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt MP visited the town of Yohmor, which was severely bombed during the conflict in 2006.
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Checking the land for submunitions in Yohmor. |
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Villagers pick okra from their field, which was cleared of cluster bombs by MAG teams. |
MAG Director of Operations Rob White said: “We’re honoured to be hosting Mr Burt and his colleagues today, and to be able to show him how vital MAG’s work still is to so many people in southern Lebanon.”
After the conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah ended in summer 2006, MAG was the first international organisation to begin clearance of the huge amount of cluster munitions dropped on southern Lebanon during the last few days of the war.
MAG began working in Lebanon in 2000, so was able to re-deploy clearance teams from elsewhere in the country to the most affected areas.
With vital funding of £1.6 million from the British Government, MAG has since been able to recruit clearance teams with the necessary resources and expertise to cope with the emergency, and to maintain lifesaving operations in the weeks and months afterwards.
“The days and weeks after war has ended are by far the most dangerous for people trying to return home to areas that have been bombed. There is no doubt that MAG’s on-the-ground presence and prioritised clearance activities in the weeks after the conflict in Lebanon saved countless lives,” said Rob.
Since summer 2006 MAG has successfully cleared and released 13 million square metres of land in southern Lebanon, with effective co-ordination with the Lebanese Mine Action Centre, and has removed and destroyed more than 21,000 unexploded cluster munitions.
See also:
- Lebanon: The problem / How MAG is helping
- British Minister for the Middle East tours South Lebanon [FCO website]
13 July 2010
MAG thanks the following current donors to its Lebanon programme: UK Department for International Development (DFID) / UKAID; German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Japanese Government; Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State.
