Army in final phase of landmine clearing

The Sri Lankan military is at the final stage of clearing high-impact landmines in former conflict areas, but the “highly contaminated” Mullaitivu remains a tough test.

A total of 358,588 landmines were cleared since the protracted battle between Sri Lankan troops and the LTTE ended in 2009.

However, another 300 to 400sq km (40,000 hectares) of territory, once the hotbed of the LTTE, is yet to be cleared.In an interview with Bernama from Colombo, Sri Lankan military spokesman Major-General Udaya Medawala said, de-mining experts were working in the “highly concentrated areas”, but was unable to give a timeline to clean up affected areas.

“We have cleared about 96 percent in Jaffna, Polonnaruwa and Mannar, but in Mullaitivu, the LTTE had laid mines in a concentrated manner.

‘‘It is a very tedious and difficult process,” he said. But people fear returning home due to landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) that pose serious threats to life.

“We are using all maximum available resources - manual, mechanical and sniffer dogs to de-mine, but these are tough terrain, with buildings and jungle.

“Our biggest challenge is to resettle the displaced persons in their homes. We need to clear these areas from mines because many depend on agricultural land for their livelihoods,” said Medawala.The Sri Lankan Government estimates that over one million landmines and UXO were planted during the war.

The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, a global mines monitoring agency, reported 1,310 casualties in Sri Lanka between 1999 and 2009, with 123 deaths.