அஸ்ஸலாமு அலைக்கும்.அன்பு தோழர்கள் அனைவரையும் என்னுடைய இணைய தளத்திற்கு வரவேற்கிறேன்.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Nepal free of landmines five years after civil war

Troops have destroyed Nepal's last minefield, five years after the end of the country's civil conflict.
Nepal is now the second country in Asia after China to become landmine-free.
Clearing the mines was agreed under a 2006 peace deal with Maoist rebels. Since the end of the conflict, mines have caused 473 casualties in Nepal - 78 of which were fatal.
The remote location of many of the fields meant the task took far longer than the 60 days first anticipated.
With an explosion that shook the side of a mountain 2,000m (6,500ft) above the city of Kathmandu, the Nepalese army destroyed the last of 53 minefields it had been responsible for laying during the country's 10-year Maoist insurgency.
The BBC's Joanna Jolly in Kathmandu says the explosion was a symbolic end to this side of the conflict - but Nepal's political parties still have a long way to go before they secure peace.
In particular they need to agree on how to demobilise some 19,000 former Maoist soldiers, she says.
Despite their commitment to clearing these mines, the Nepalese government is yet to sign the international Ottawa treaty banning all landmines.

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