Sudan: Demining in Southern Sudan

Source: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - One of the key threats the returning refugees and internally displaced persons of South Sudan face is the presence of landmines and explosive remnants of war. As part of UNDP's wider assistance package to Southern Sudan, and with funding from the Canadian government and in partnership with Southern Sudan Demining Commission and the Danish Demining Group, UNDP recently completed a two-month mine risk education (MRE) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) project in high priority areas of Magwi and Loa in South Sudan's Central Equatoria State.

The project delivered critical risk education messages to 2,480 local residents, recently returned refugees and internally displaced persons. It also cleared over 1,000 articles of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in areas in which returnees resettled. In addition, the project built professional capacities and skills of four staff of Southern Sudan Demining Commission in the management of MRE and EOD operations and six staff of Sudan Integrated Mine Action Service, a UN-accredited local NGO, in managing EOD operations. These staff worked alongside teams from the Danish Demining Group to deliver risk education messages and clear UXO. This opportunity enhanced the local deminers' skills and knowledge of mine action, paving the way towards the transition of mine action programme to national ownership scheduled for 2011.

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