Landmines are small, usually round devices designed to injure or kill people by an explosive blast or flying fragments.

Most mines are made of plastic and contain about the same amount of metal as the spring in a ballpoint pen making metal detectors useless

It takes a tiny amount of pressure to detonate a landmine, making
every man, woman, child, and animal who steps on one to become the
next victim.

Mines can be laid above ground in trees or buried.

Landmines also injure or kill hundreds of thousands of animals every year.

1,000 people are involved in landmine accidents every month - one victim every 40 minutes. Around 800 of these will die, the rest will be maimed.

There are 600 different types of mines around the
world.

Landmines destroy the environment by polluting the soil and forcing farmers to cultivate only "safe" soil repeatedly. This causes loss of nutrients and erosion.

Read the the story of Julio Perez: a 12 year old landmine victim who escaped the odds