Ethiopia / Eritrea
K9 Demining Efforts Continue in Eritrea

Demining activities in Eritrea continue along the Eritrea/Ethiopia border, nearly 12 kilometers from the town of Tserona. The mine detection dog (MDD) teams are working with manual deminers in a pre-defined area that extends approximately 400 meters along the border and then in a northerly direction to an area previously cleared by the Eritrean Demining Agency (EDA). Until recently, the MDD teams were the primary means of clearance at this site because of extremely large amounts of metal contamination discovered in the border area.

In April, however, all teams had to cease demining operations following the announcement of recent findings by the Ethiopian Government. These border commission findings determined that the clearance site, previously thought to be located in Eritrea, is, in fact, located in Ethiopia. The United Nations issued a statement advising all groups to withdraw and, for safety reasons, all demining teams were removed from the area.

During the border reorganization process throughout most of May, the MDD teams established new training minefields and conducted training at a new camp and work site approximately 11 kilometers northeast of Tserona. The new site is a large area of approximately six square kilometers that the local population hopes to use for farming after mine clearance and verification are complete.

Despite boundary disputes, heightened security concerns, and temperatures reported sometimes to exceed 108 degrees Fahrenheit, the MDD teams cleared 39,117 square meters of land. In this area, they removed 22 antipersonnel mines, 2 antitank mines, 10 antitank mine fuses, and 25 pieces of unexploded ordnance from the land. The chance for retraining during the work stoppage has also led to an increase in the overall productivity of the teams.