[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, GLOBAL: "Coalition admits its left unexploded munitions behind as it closed Afghan bases"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Coalition admits its left unexploded munitions behind as it closed Afghan bases

By Jay Price
McClatchy Foreign Staff/Miami Herald (FL)
July 31, 2013

The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan has agreed to do a better job of cleaning up deadly unexploded munitions from its bases and firing ranges as it closes them down after the U.N. accused them of leaving dangerous explosives behind, a coalition spokesman wrote Wednesday in an emailed statement.
The International Security Assistance Force also will re-examine bases that already have been demolished to make certain unexploded ordnance hasn’t been left behind, the spokesman said.

So-called “explosive remnants of war” have emerged in the past few months as an increasing danger to civilians, in particular children. In the first half of the year, nearly 150 people were killed or injured when such munitions detonated, according to a report issued Wednesday by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA. That’s a jump of 53 percent from the same period in 2012. Nearly 80 percent of the victims were children.

United Nations demining officials told McClatchy in July that they believed the increase was mainly related to the closing of the hundreds of small ISAF bases as the coalition prepares to end its combat mission by the end of next year.

…

For the entire article, see
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/31/v-print/3534689/coalition-admits-its-left-unexploded.html
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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org




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