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Dept for International Development

Answer

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the frequency of the accidental triggering of land mines arising from the internal emigration of Afghans from the cities to the countryside following the start of the bombing of Afghan cities in October 2001. [28652] Hilary Benn: Afghanistan has long been one of the countries most severely affected by land mine contamination, a problem which has existed for about 20 years. The provision of precise information on mine/UXO victims since September 2001 is very limited. Reporting to hospitals by land mine/UXO victims has been disrupted by hostilities and by the restrictions on freedom of movement. The limited information that has been reported to the Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA) indicates that land mines continue to claim lives throughout the country as people move in areas that are at risk. Unfortunately the problem is expected to worsen with the increasing repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Mine action operations will continue to be focused on supporting humanitarian aid movements through the clearance of communication routes, airports and high priority areas near to civilian populations, thereby reducing the risk for returnees. Coalition forces are sharing information with the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). As part of our overall commitment of £60 million to support the UN led humanitarian and recovery effort, we have allocated £3 million through UNMAS for future humanitarian mine action interventions in Afghanistan. This will cover mine clearance operations in Afghanistan as described above.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

28652; 378 c892-3W;378 c891-2W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Armed conflict Bombings Casualties Bomb disposal Landmines Refugees Afghanistan

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk