Africa-Press – Angola. The director general of the National Mine Action Agency (ANAM), Leonardo Sapalo, resumed, this Friday, the challenge of applying all available actions to identify, define and remove all presence, suspicion and imposed restrictions for mine contamination by 2025.
Data recently released by the agency shows the identification of one thousand and 69 suspected mine areas, corresponding to 66 million, 488 thousand and 299 square meters in the country.
Speaking at the end of the 1st Technical Demining Course, held over five weeks, on the basis of Maintenance, Preparation and Conservation of Special Demining Equipment, Leonardo Sapalo said that the challenges are aligned with Agenda 2025, in order to make the circulation of people and safer goods, inside and outside localities, as well as promoting socioeconomic development.
He noted that, despite all the efforts made over the 21 years of peace, the population, in some locations, continues to be impacted by mines and other explosive devices.
This situation, according to the person responsible, leads to the revitalization of education and prevention campaigns on the danger of these artefacts, as the challenge of freeing the country from this problem is great and requires the involvement of all stakeholders.
He explained that anti-personnel mines are a military engineering weapon with well-defined functions in times of war that, once planted, are waiting to explode, in reaction to a certain pressure or action exerted on them, accidentally or deliberately. .
He added that these artifacts do not know how to discern context, nor read peace agreements that are signed between belligerents, hence the need for continuous awareness raising among the population and the involvement of all parties involved in identification and consequent removal actions.
Therefore, he said that the training, in which 25 from ANAM and the National Demining Center from the provinces of Cabinda, Huíla, Luanda, Lunda Norte and Malange participated, as well as three others from the National Demining Center, was of great importance. to achieve the recommended objectives, as the role of coordination and supervision will be further reinforced with the results of this course.
More than five million square meters clarified in Huambo
In turn, the governor of the province of Huambo, Lotti Nolika, reported that throughout this year, nearly five million, 697 thousand and 700 square meters were cleared in this region of the Central Plateau, with priority given to energy transmission lines. high and medium voltage.
This action, he said, resulted in the destruction of 113 explosive devices, including five anti-personnel mines and other remnants from the war period.
Lotti Nolika stated that, despite the significant achievements and advances already achieved in this arduous struggle, mines and other explosives of war continue to cause suffering, pain and death in local society.
Therefore, the governor encouraged those involved in the demining process to continue with this mission, in a determined manner, for the aggrandizement of the country and beyond.
Demonstrations of manual and mechanical demining, as well as the demolition of 996 unexploded explosive devices, marked the closing act of the 1st Technical Demining Course.
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