Despite bad weather, demining operations continue to ensure public safety

Farmer Hoang Ty shows RENEW team member the location of UXO recently unearthed, which required an immediate and safe response.

Quảng Trị (12 Jan 2012) – Cold and rainy weather in the first week of the year were not enough to deter RENEW teams from continuing their demining operations. After all, the safety of their neighbors and residents in their communities depends on the teams' uninterrupted response to the dangers of UXO. One response was immediate, from 50-year-old farmer Hoang Ty. Mr. Ty informed the CST team about 17 white phosphorus 81mm mortars he had unearthed in Trieu Phong District. Ty found the unexploded ordnance while working in his garden just 50m from his house. If these munitions had gone off, they would have seriously endangered Ty's family and neighbors.

White phosphorous causes horrific burns and lifelong scars to victims who survive. Luckily, in this case, safety was ensured when the rounds were removed and destroyed by RENEW's EOD team.

In three working days in Trieu Phong and Cam Lo Districts, two EOD Quick Response teams carried out 16 tasks in response to alerts called in by local residents, safely removing and destroying 21 UXOs.

During this same period of time, in another area of Cam Lo District, a RENEW Battle Area Clearance (BAC) team completed clearance of 1,250 square meters and destroyed safely three UXOs. To date, the BAC team has released 65,000 square meters of safe, tillable land for villagers to use again, safely removing 395 UXOs including 264 cluster bombs. This area is one of most heavily contimated with cluster bombs – since 1975 a major cause of UXO accidents and an ongoing impediment to normal use of farm land.

During the past week RENEW's Cluster Munition Team (CMT) completed a survey of 56,200 square meters of land and in the process found and destroyed a cluster bomb and three other munitions. Since 2011, the CMT has surveyed 29 sites and provided the information to RENEW's database unit, which maps areas contaminated by cluster bombs using records of wartime bombing strikes provided by the U.S. Department of Defense. From analysis of the data, RENEW interventions and clearance operations are prioritized in cooperation with local officials, with the result that safe land is returned to the local people for their use and for the province's economic development.

Repairing the road to provide better access for RENEW teams and to allow local people to travel more easily.

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