He points to the role of the wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia in this situation and says that “children are particularly vulnerable”
3 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned on Monday that the danger posed by antipersonnel mines and other unexploded ordnance has increased in the last two years, especially due to the wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia.
“The number of people facing the danger of mines and unexploded ordnance has increased compared to the last two years due to clashes in the Ukraine and Ethiopia, which have contaminated large areas in neighborhoods and on agricultural land,” has assessed the head of the ICRC Weapons Contamination Unit, Erik Tollefsen.
Thus, he has stated that “the injuries that have altered the lives of so many people show that carrying out daily activities such as planting a vegetable garden or even walking through the community itself entails a level of fatal risk.”
“Children are particularly vulnerable to the damage caused by these explosive weapons,” he stressed, before recalling that the effects of these devices on people who reside in these areas or return to them “will last for years.”
For this reason, Tollefsen has emphasized that “more financial resources and equipment are needed to remove unexploded ordnance and educate communities on how to protect themselves,” according to a statement published by the ICRC on the occasion of International Danger Information Day. Mine Action and Mine Action Assistance, which takes place on 4 April.
