De-mining activity said at infancy stage in Ethiopia

 Addis Ababa, June5 (ENA)--Mine demarcation and humanitarian de-mining activities have been quite limited in Ethiopia, executive director of the Rehabilitation and Development Organization (RaDO) said.

 Tilahun Gebere-Kidan made the remark at the opening here on Tuesday of a two-day workshop on mine awareness for physical rehabilitation professionals organized by the Ethiopian Physiotherapists Association (EPTA).

 According to Tilahun, decades of internal and external conflicts have left around 2 million land mines and unexploded ordinances behind in Ethiopia.

 While land mines have been uncovered through out the country, the heaviest land mine concentrations were in Tigray and Afar States as well as in Ogaden region of the Somali State, he said.

 "Land mines in these regions have caused some 5-10 causalities per week," a RaDO Publication indicated.

 The Ethiopian De-mining Project under the Ministry of Defense was the only institution involved in mine clearing activities, Tilahun said.

 Ethiopia was among the top ten land mine infested countries in the world, Tilahun said.

 Angola, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Iraq were the most mined countries, according to Tilahun.

 The executive director underlined the need for public-oriented mines and unexploded ordinance clearing along front lines, which he said was a time consuming and expensive task.

 He said people at risk need to be aware of the behavior required to live safely in a landmine-contaminated environment.

 Health Service Training Department head with the Ministry of Health, Yohannes Seifu, on his part said   the country was currently faced with the threat of land mines planted by Eritrean invading troops along the border area.

 Health professionals particularly physio-therapists, orthopedic technicians as well as rehabilitation and social workers need to raise the awareness of the civilian population about the danger of landmines.

 Statistics indicated that 71 countries around the world have been contaminated with mines since the 2nd world war, and around 60 million 'hidden killers' have been laid worldwide.

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