4/1/2002
Mine Action Team to Remove Cluster Bombs From 100 Afghan Sites

The UN Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan has again swung into action, risking life and limb to clear and make safe unexploded ordnance remaining after recent fighting in the country. Having removed many large unexploded bombs from Kabul and other sites the emphasis is now on removing the cluster bombs that were dropped in more than 100 places.

Cluster bombs were used during a number of recent attacks on Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. These weapons are dropped from aircraft; on hitting the ground they disperse into a number of miniature bombs that explode over a wide area. They are intended to be effective against ground troops.

However, frequently not all the 'bomblets' explode immediately and unexploded 'bomblets' can be detonated accidentally by people or animals stumbling across them. The effect is similar to an anti-personnel landmine, often leaving the victim maimed for life.

The United Nations has been provided with a list of where coalition forces used cluster bombs in Afghanistan. There are 103 such sites which the UN Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan will be helping to clear in the coming months. Work has begun in the village of Denar Kheil, which was attacked last month and is now heavily contaminated by unexploded 'bomblets'.

Given the high risk to the local population, especially children, a UN survey team is being sent to map the exact area of contamination, and following this, another team will undertake surface clearance before it snows, said a UN spokesman. But the onset of winter is complicating the surveying efforts.

Although no cluster bombs were dropped on Kabul itself, the city was subject to extensive bombing. The UN Mine Action Programme has almost finished clearing away the larger unexploded ordnance, mainly bombs in the 500-2,000 pound range. However, multi-launch rocket systems, anti-aircraft missiles and millions of ammunition rounds that spewed in various directions when targets were hit, continue to pose a threat in the capital, say the UN.