DanChurchAid

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Humanitarian Mine Action

Last landmine destroyed

07/11/2006: With the explosion of the last landmine in the remote mountainous area in north eastern Albania, DanChurchAid marked the exit of Albania with a blast after working with humanitarian mine action in the country since 2002.

November 2, 2006, DanChurchAid's General Secretary Henrik Stubkjær pressed the buttons to blow up the last mine in Albania, thus marking DanChurchAid's closedown of its humanitarian mine action (HMA) programme in Albania.

A local NGO in Albania will clear the few remaining mines left in remote places in the mountains. DanChurchAid's HMA team has trained the deminers and has also been instrumental in forming the organisation.

Working with a humanitarian mine action approach, DanChurchAid only clear minefields that are identified to affect people's everyday lives - in their fields, villages, around schools and roads.

DanChurchAid in Albania since 2002

During the Kosovo conflict in 1998/1999, landmines were used extensively, and border areas of Albania as a result became heavily contaminated as a “spill over” effect. While Kosovo received vast international assistance, Albania was almost completely ignored.

DanChurchAid's operations in Albania started in 2002 as a logical continuation of the DanChurchAid Kosovo demining operations (1999-2001).

Operations included manual demining, technical and impact survey, mine dog detection (MDD) and battle area clearance on high and medium priority areas.