Africa-Press – Angola. Five hundred and 91 areas in the province of Huambo, covering an area of 19 million, 74 thousand and 145 square meters of land, were declared free from contamination from mines and explosive devices.
The information was provided, this Wednesday, by the director general of the National Mine Action Agency (ANAM), Leonardo Sapalo, during the consultation with the authorities of the province of Huambo on the process of freeing communities from known mined areas.
On the occasion, Leonardo Sapalo reported that these were areas suspected of contamination from the remnants of war, with the removal of 14 thousand 438 mines, of which 14 thousand 144 are anti-personnel and 294 anti-tank, in addition to another 11 thousand 259 unexploded explosive devices.
He said that, after surveying the impact of mines on communities, whose surfaces were cataloged from 2007 to the present date, numerous demining actions were carried out by various operators, including public, non-governmental and private, in order to eliminate the identified areas.
He highlighted the importance attributed by the Angolan Executive to the Mine Action sector, which has contributed to achieving the strategic objectives recommended in the communities, from the creation of security conditions, social and reconstruction programs, with a focus on national development.
Leonardo Sapalo said that internal and external work has been carried out to determine the areas and, consequently, continue with the operational and administrative process already started to conclude, identify, remove and destroy mines, to declare the communities free from contamination.
He considered that the process constitutes a significant step for ANAM, as it contributes to fulfilling Angola’s obligations, as a State party to the convention on the prohibition of production, storage, transfer and use of anti-personnel mines.
He informed that, at a time when 20 months are missing from the deadline stipulated by the Maputo Declaration of 2014, which predicted a mine-free world by December 2025, Angola will prepare the request to extend the deadline for fulfilling the obligations of article 5 of this convention to five more years, due to the global financial crisis.
For his part, the vice-governor for Technical Services and Infrastructures of the province of Huambo, Elmano Francisco, recalled that this region of the country was not spared by the decades-long armed conflict, resulting in the destruction of several socioeconomic infrastructures. , which are currently being rebuilt.
He asked for more collaboration from local authorities, as mines and unexploded explosive devices abandoned during the war still continue to cause human casualties, hence the need to work hard to eradicate this scourge and build a better Angola.
The National Mine Action Agency (ANAM) is an Angolan institution that coordinates, regulates and supervises all demining activity in the country.
This region of the country, with an area of 35 thousand 771 square kilometers, has an estimated population of more than two million 700 thousand inhabitants, spread across the municipalities of Bailundo, Caála, Cachiungo, Chicala-Cholohanga, Chinjenje, Ecunha, Huambo, Londuimbali, Longonjo, Mungo and Ucuma.
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