Ethiopia

Across the Horn of Africa the humanitarian situation is fragile due to ongoing conflict, drought, famine and economic hardship. Ethiopia's borders with Eritrea, Somaliland and Somalia all suffer from the presence of landmines laid during historic conflicts. Unexploded ordnance is also present from more recent conflicts, including the Tigray in 2022.

Landmines kill valuable livestock and restrict access to already scarce resources such as water and grazing land, exacerbating existing inter-clan conflicts. 

Having cleared minefields on the Somaliland side of the border since the early 2000s, HALO's work in Ethiopia began in 2022 as clearance of cross-border minefields in the Somali State in the south of the country. This work was an essential part of the the Berbera corridor project—opening up trade routes from Berbera Port in Somaliland, to Ethiopia, and the interior of the Horn of Africa. As the roads are rebuilt, population pressures are increasing in the border region, compounded by a succession of severe droughts pushing traditional nomadic communities into the local villages.

Seven of Ethiopia's regional states have varying levels of explosives contamination, ranging from legacy minefields from nearly 40 years ago, to unexploded ordinance fired as recently as 2022. Legacy minefields also cross three of Ethiopia’s international boundaries.

In 2023, the UN's Mine Action Service estimated that over seven million Ethiopians needed landmine clearance to be able to return home and safely resume their lives.

HALO Trust has been working since 2022 to clear minefields around the villages of Dabogoryaale and Khatumo, located in Gashamo Woreda, Jarar Zone, Somali Regional State. As of 2024, HALO Ethiopia Non-technical survey teams had successfully surveyed 64 hazardous areas along the border between Ethiopia and Somaliland. In the same period, HALO’s clearance teams have cleared hundreds of thousands of metres square of land intended for grazing and community expansions, destroying not only anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, but also unexploded ordnance dating back to Second World War battles between Italian and British troops.

Since 2025, with permission and priorities set by the Ethiopia Mine Action Office, HALO is now focusing its efforts on the Afar region, one of the more recently contaminated areas in Ethiopia. Afar has been affected not only by past conflicts but also by the spillover effects of the Tigray conflict (2020–2022). The presence of explosive hazards in Afar, combined with the legacy contamination, makes it a critical area for mine clearance and humanitarian assistance. The strategic value of this work is only exacerbated by the fact that despite being surrounded by conflict in Tigray and Amhara, Afar remains peaceful, making it a key bastion of stability in the region.