- A Small Arms and Light Weapons clearance team has destroyed 187 x 82mm mortars and 37 x PF7 rockets from a trench discovered by a resident in Kudo Payam, Torit County
- A total of 50 dangerous areas were cleared in Kudo Payam alone during February
"Rats," explains 41-year-old Lino John, "are a well-liked meat" within his Lotuka tribe in Hutiala village in Kudo Payam. So when he saw one entering a trench close to his tukul (a
traditional hut), Lino followed the rat and
attempted to dig it out.
 |
|
Lino John pointing to the unexploded ordnance (UXO) he found in a trench. |
 |
|
Some of the explosive items removed from the trench discovered by Lino John and cleared by the SALW team. [Photos: MAG Sudan] |
“I didn’t dig very far before I found many bombs”, says Lino. Oblivious to the dangers of the items he was finding, Lino began to move them, clearing his way to capture the rat.
Similarly unaware of the dangers were the many people observing Lino’s actions, in what is a residential area close to the Juba-Torit road.
A few days later, Lino happened to attend a Mine Risk Education (MRE) session given by MAG in the village. Made aware of his high-risk behaviour, Lino directed MAG's Community Liaison team to the trench containing the unexploded ordnance (UXO) he had found.
MAG spread critical MRE messages throughout Hutaila village to prevent further tampering of the items and to gather data – which revealed that Kudo Payam was a former battle area – while the clearance team removed 187 82mm mortars and 37 PF7 rockets from the trench. The items were later taken to a controlled demolition site and destroyed.
On the same day, the SALW team also removed (and then destroyed) from other sites in in Hutaila: one 130mm projectile, one 72mm projectile, one 82 mm rocket, one 107mm rocket, three PG7 rockets, two 60mm mortars and one 120mm mortar.
A total of 50 dangerous areas were cleared by the SALW team in Kudo Payam alone during its deployment to Torit County in February.
24 March 09
Links:
- MAG Sudan microsite - find out more about MAG's work
- MAG approach to Conventional Weapons Management and Disposal
- Click on Tags below for related articles
The SALW team in this article is funded by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State.
Back to top
