COLOMBIA| CAUCASUS & BALKANS | GEORGIA |
Clearance Map  The problem Landmines Abkhazia Both Georgian and Abkhazian forces used landmines extensively during the war of 1992-93. Mines were also used in varying degrees between the May 1994 cease-fire and the late 1990s by individuals and small groups, primarily in relation to criminal activities. The landmines laid during the war were concentrated along well defined lines of conflict and key terrain. The Gumista and Inguri rivers, the Gali Canal, the Kodori Valley and the main road were all heavily mined areas of tactical importance. Post conflict these mined areas prevented the safe resumption of agricultural activities and light industry. They also denied safe transit to the population of Abkhazia. The HALO Trust conducted an extensive landmine survey of Abkhazia between 1999 and 2000 where 260 minefields were identified. Since the short conflict in August 2008 The HALO Trust has had access to the Upper Kodori Region and to date has identified 32 minefields requiring clearance. Further survey work in 2009 is required to fully define the extent of mineclearance required. South Ossetia Since the 1990-1992 Georgian-Ossetian war, there has been persistent low-level mine-laying, primarily in areas between Georgian and South Ossetian controlled villages. The HALO Trust has yet to fully assess the landmine threat in South Ossetia; however there have been reports of at least 15 landmine casualties in the past three years. Soviet Legacy minefields There remain a small number of minefields around former military installations and in some border areas outside the two conflict zones. As these areas return to civilian use, they continue to pose a threat to local people and deny access to land which could return to productive use. There are also some former military training areas where items of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) have caused a number of fatalities. Cluster munitions and other UXO Shida Kartli region (August 2008 conflict) South Ossetian, Georgian and Russian forces clashed over a four day period around the South Ossetian “capital” city of Tskhinvali in August 2008. Although minefields were not laid during this conflict, the heavy use of airbombing, artillery and mortars resulted in widespread Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and cluster munition contamination of this area. This contamination spread with the retreat of Georgian forces from Tskhinvali to the town of Gori in Georgia. Concurrent to the conflict centred on South Ossetia, targets were bombed elsewhere in Georgia, including the Upper Kodori region of Abkhazia. This contamination was largely limited to individual airbomb and rocket strikes, which were quickly addressed and cleared. It should however be noted that in some cases this bombing did target ammunition stores which caused a large number of dangerous throw outs. For example, HALO cleared over 15,000 such items from three villages in the Upper Kodori. The majority of remaining contamination is limited to a 20km wide corridor between Gori and Tskhinvali where the high-intensity conflict took place. The main threat to these villages is from the extensive use of cluster munitions, S-8 rockets and the presence of abandoned ammunition. A total of 18 villages have been affected by cluster munitions. HALO currently estimates that 700-900 hectares of primarily agricultural land will require clearance to remove the threat posed by buried cluster munitions. Abkhazia Between 1998 and 2009 HALO ran a fully integrated mineclearance programme using armoured mechanical assets such as Volvo Front Loaders, Tracked Excavators and Rock Crushers to support hundreds of manual deminers in their clearance of minefields. This programme was enhanced over the last four years when the US Department of State funded the acceleration of the clearance programme where longer hours were worked by more deminers, supported by more mechanical assets. In order to confirm all necessary clearance has been conducted, HALO has been conducting a “mine free” survey over the last four years in conjunction with Abkhazia’s 122 Village Administrations and Regional Authorities. To date, 109 (89%) of Village Administrations have officially recorded they were satisfied that no further clearance is required in their areas of responsibility. As at April 2009, 250 minefields have been cleared by manual and mechanical clearance teams. During clearance operations over 35,000 landmines and items of unexploded ordnance have been destroyed. Only 10 minefields remain to be cleared of which 6 are currently being cleared by HALO’s teams. Concurrent to the completion of clearance of Abkhazia’s minefields laid in the 1990s, HALO teams are now fully operational in the Upper Kodori Region where over 15,000 mines, UXO and Stray Ammunition have been safely destroyed since September 2008. Shida Kartli Region HALO has recruited, trained and deployed 280 local staff to conduct battle area clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas, using both surface and sub-surface clearance techniques. HALO also provides mobile explosive ordnance disposal teams to deal with abandoned ammunition or individual items of unexploded ordnance. Clearance of this region, funded by The United States Department of State, The European Commission (through ECHO), The UK Government (through DFID) and The Federal Government of Germany is expected to be completed by late summer 2009. HALO is also providing risk education teams, which are conducting a school-based programme for children and a public information campaign in affected areas. Requirement for continued clearance Abkhazia HALO estimates that it will take until the end of 2010 to clear the newly-indentified minefields in the Upper Kodori region whilst clearance of minefields in other regions will be complete by the end of 2009. Funding for the 120 deminers to conduct this clearance is planned to be supported by The United States Department of State and The European Commission. After clearance of all minefields is complete it is expected that individual mines and UXO will occasionally be found. To this end, HALO is committed to running a small sustainable local capacity for a number of years after Abkhazia is declared free to deal with the occasional Explosive Ordnance Disposal call out or the clearance of ground where individual mines have been found. Legacy minefields There are a small number of areas outside Georgia’s conflict zones where mines and unexploded ordnance continue to cause casualties. These areas include former military bases and training areas which have returned to civilian use. In 2008, two children were killed and two injured in these former military areas. HALO has surveyed the mined areas and prioritised four for clearance. HALO is currently looking for funding to clear these priority tasks over a 12 month period. South Ossetia In addition to mines laid since the early 1990s, it is likely that there is UXO and cluster munition contamination in South Ossetia resulting from the August 2008 conflict despite emergency surface clearance by EMERCOM. HALO intends to undertake a detailed assessment mission in South Ossetia in 2009. The findings of an initial assessment indicate a full clearance programme will be required. |
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