Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

Three days in the "Triangle of Death"
22 Aug 2008 15:26:00 GMT
 Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
Website: Website: http://www.maginternational.org

220485 logo
White paint is sprayed to signify that the UXO has been removed.
Previous | Next
White paint is sprayed to signify that the UXO has been removed.

Background

•  Congo (DR) conflict

MORE >>
MAG's Manual Clearance Teams (MCTs) in Katanga, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, work in the "Triangle of Death" between Pweto, Moba and Moliro.

Heavy fighting took place here in the Second Congo War (1998-2003), and consequently the area is one of those most contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The two teams - which together comprise one Technical Field Manager (TFM), two Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team leaders, six EOD technicians, one doctor, two medics, one field assistant, four drivers and one cook - are based in Pweto, where MAG has had a field base since 2004.

The MCTs go on deployment for about three weeks at a time, returning to the base at the end of the month for reporting and administrative issues.

From 4 to 6 August 2008, the MCTs set camp in Pepa, located on the main road between Pweto and Moba. A very large Belgian-owned farm that used to be a major centre for cattle herding and trade, Pepa was pillaged during the war by the Rwandan and Congolese armies. The teams are generally accommodated in tents, but in Pepa MAG rents an old farm house.

A typical day of work for the MCTs starts at 7am, and operations must be completed by 3.30pm, to ensure that in the event of an accident an air evacuation would be possible before sunset, which is always around 6pm close to the equator line. The MCTs normally deploy with three vehicles: one dedicated ambulance, one for the EOD equipment and one for the explosives (which, for security reason, cannot be transported with sensitive EOD equipment such as detonators).

Throughout the day, team leaders use the Dangerous Area (DA) reports compiled by MAG's Community Liaison (CL) staff to guide their teams to the items to be cleared. These reports were completed with the local population and include a description of the suspect item(s) and a map of how to reach it/them with GPS coordinates.

The teams follow the markers in red paint drawn by the CL teams, and get their bearings using GPS.

Once they find the item, the teams evaluate if it is stable - ie. whether it can be removed, transported and destroyed later on in a bulk demolition - or not.

If the item is unstable and cannot be transported, it must be destroyed in situ. The team leader and TFM prepare the demolition: they unroll the firing cable, place the explosive and the detonator on the item, cover it with a sand bag to contain the explosion, and move at a safe distance for the explosion.

The teams then perform a visual search on at least 50 square metres around the UXO.

Once the DA is cleared, white paint is sprayed on the red marker to signify that the item has been removed. The teams then move to the next DA. In a full day of work, about 10 DAs are cleared.

On 6 August, before moving to Moba (the next temporary base in this deployment), the teams destroy the items removed in the previous three days in the surroundings of Pepa, in a bulk demolition. A vast abandoned field near the farmhouse serves as a demolition site. A hole is dug in the ground and the items are placed strategically in the pit.

As for an in situ demolition, explosives, the detonator and the firing cable are placed in the pit, the area is evacuated, and one of the team leaders fires.

The teams always return to the pit after the explosion to ensure the destruction was complete and nothing dangerous remains.

The next morning, as the MAG convoy leaves Pepa towards Moba, the population, and especially the children, wave good bye. Cars crossing their villages are a rare happening...

For more information on MAG's DRC programme please visit www.maginternational.org/drc.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  International Humanitarian Law

•  Landmines and explosives

MORE >>

Emergencies

•  Congo (DR) conflict

MORE >>

Members

•  MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Three days in the "Triangle of Death"
MAG - UK

•  Three days in the "Triangle of Death"
MAG - UK

•  MAG Iraq - July update
MAG - UK

•  MAG's Angola election message: 'Vote in Safety'
MAG - UK

•  Georgia / Russian Federation: ICRC president to visit conflict-affected areas
ICRC - Switzerland

MORE >>

Latest news

•  DRC: Tensions still rife in Ituri despite progress in DDR

•  Ivory poachers decimate Congo elephant population

•  Cash crisis hits cluster bomb clearance in Lebanon

•  Toll in southern Somalia fighting hits 55

•  DRC: Health crisis looms as doctors' strike continues

MORE >>

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Related articles

Breaking stories
 DRC: Tensions still rife in Ituri despite progress in DDR (1 minute ago)

Ivory poachers decimate Congo elephant population (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 MEDIAWATCH: Surprises in Sudan (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Three days in the "Triangle of Death" (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 International Criminal Court prosecutor under fire (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Climate hazard hotspots (cumulative) (1 minute ago)


Country information

Briefings
Congo (DR) conflict - [Who works where]

Topics
International Humanitarian Law Landmines and explosives
Facts & figures
Congo (DR)

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-14T030228Z_01_WAS98_RTRIDSP_2_GUANTANAMO-HEARINGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/WAS98.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-08-14T024752Z_01_WAS99_RTRIDSP_2_GUANTANAMO-HEARINGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/WAS99.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-29T184859Z_01_BEL13_RTRIDSP_2_WARCRIMES-KARADZIC-PROTEST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BEL13.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-29T184425Z_01_BEL12_RTRIDSP_2_WARCRIMES-KARADZIC-PROTEST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BEL12.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-07-29T181124Z_01_BEL06_RTRIDSP_2_WARCRIMES-KARADZIC-PROTEST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BEL06.htm

Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, legal advisor for the Office of Military Commissions, briefs the media about the U.S. Military Commissions process, at the Military Commissions' legal complex at Guantanamo ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Fri Aug 22 15:32:59 2008