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Ready for destruction: anti-personnel and anti-tank mine fuses. |
On 10 February 2011 MAG’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts working in Puntland, Somalia, destroyed more than 380 deadly anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mine fuses – the largest single destruction of mines MAG has done since starting work in the troubled region in 2008.
Senior local Police Commanders handed the mines to MAG’s Technical Field Managers during a visit to the northern coastal town of Bosaso. The authorities in Puntland State of Somalia have signed the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action, pledging to ban the use, production, acquisition and transfer of anti-personnel (AP) mines, destroy their AP mine stocks, and facilitating mine action activities.
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“The Government of Puntland thanks MAG and the Puntland Mine Action Centre (PMAC) for mine action activities, such as identification, disposal and public awareness of deadly mines. The Government appreciates the successful mine action activities which protect citizens including children and help contribute to overall security situation of Puntland.” – Jama Hassan, Chief of Cabinet, Office of the President of Puntland |
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Here Alistair Moir, MAG’s Project Manager in Puntland, explains how this significant demolition shows the success of MAG’s work building partnerships with the national authorities in Puntland, working together to make the region safer for its people:
“In every country we work, MAG works hard to adapt to each unique context in order to maximise our humanitarian impact, and in Puntland State of Somalia we’ve been working for more than two years now in conjunction with PMAC and the Puntland Police Force. When we first arrived in Puntland in 2008 we found out that the State had no capacity to carry out EOD tasks. Instead of creating our own stand-alone EOD team, we decided to help the authorities build their own capacity, to ensure a legacy the State can benefit from long after MAG no longer works here.
“Authorities in Puntland welcomed our flexible approach and agreed to respect MAG’s core humanitarian values, in return for us transferring our technical expertise to help communities up and down the country live free from the threat of lethal remnants of conflict. This productive working relationship has so far enabled MAG to safely remove and destroy 70 tons of unexploded ordnance from Puntland – a great achievement that could save countless lives here.
“To maintain and safeguard our neutral stance in Somalia we constantly strive to interact positively with all sections of society. MAG’s Community Liaison Teams were created specifically to work with rural communities, while our presence in the state capital Garowe means we can co-operate easily with the various government ministries. MAG’s non-partisan stance and open attitude means we are willing to engage with the full and varied spectrum of Somali society, and the obvious transparency of our offers of assistance has developed trust and greater access to stockpiles of deadly weapons that were previously closed.
“We were extremely pleased to be able to assist PMAC and the Puntland authorities in the demolition of these mines, safely destroyed under the technical supervision of MAG’s Technical Field Managers. It is testament to MAG’s commitment to helping the people of Somalia, using our Humanitarian Mine Action skills, that the government agreed to hand over these indiscriminate weapons, ensuring they will never claim any victims.”
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“These mines have been a big threat to Puntland. We have many enemies in our towns who would use these against us. The removal of these items by MAG and PMAC working together is a great relief to the people and government of Puntland. I am very proud to be part of this process.” – Abdirisak Issa Hussein, PMAC Director |
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MAG thanks the following current donors to its Somalia operations: Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State; African Conflict Prevention Pool.
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P4Mk1 AP mines being carefully positioned in the demolition pit. |
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The MAG-trained Police EOD Team prepare donor charges with detonation cord. |
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The demolition pit is prepared with the majority of AP mines at the bottom. |
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Gone forever. The lethal remnants of conflict go up in smoke. |
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The team after the demolition. |
17 February 2011
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