More Than 50 Anti-personnel Landmines Destroyed in Mauritania

More than fifty antipersonnel landmines and mortar shells were destroyed on Friday near Nouadhibou, about 470 kilometers north of Nouakchott as part of the commemoration of the World Awareness Day on the dangers of mines and solidarity with their victims, a reliable source told APA.

This exercise was carried out under the supervision of the National De-mining Program (PND) which seeks to destroy mines, sensitize the people and support victims.

The program activities are focussed on the country’s northern region mainly along the railway linking the Zouerate mines and the Nouadhibou ore terminal over hundreds of kilometers.

This area was the scene of violent clashes between Mauritanian troops and the Polisario Front which is claiming the autonomy of the Western Sahara territory which was then divided between Mauritania and Morocco.

Marking the targeted area has shown that a 76, 000-square kilometer area is considered dangerous due to the presence of mines, the PND official, Colonel Ali Ould Mohamed said in an address delivered for the occasion.

He noted that only four square kilometers had so far been cleared by a specialized mine-clearing team with the best working tools, saying that the total clearance of the entire mined area could end by 2011.

Source African Press Agency

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