SUMMARY (Reporting Period: 01 July 2008 - 31 July 2008)

Summary of outputs:

- Search and clearance of a total of 1,750 square metres of land through a combination of hand and visual techniques

- Removal of a total of 11,385 hazardous items by the humanitarian mine action (HMA) teams

- Destruction of 13,011 items of ammunition and 431 weapons by the conventional weapons management and disposal (CWMD) teams

- 22 Dangerous Areas identified

- 79 Mine Risk Education sessions conducted, targeting 5,005 beneficiaries

Summary of activities:

The first major event this month was the start of operations by the mobile CWMD teams funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

CWMD operations started on July 10 in Lufalanga close to Mbuji-Mayi, provincial capital of Kasai Oriental.

183 weapons were destroyed, and ammunition storage was reorganised with the FARDC to respect safe storage procedures following advice from MAG's Technical Field Manager.

In addition, over 200 antipersonnel mines were earmarked for destruction in a later bulk demolition; more progress by DRC in respect of the Ottawa Treaty.

The second main activity was the completion of clearance and community liaison training for the MAG and Humantias Ubangi HMA teams this month in Gemena, Equateur Province.

In total, 55 people followed the various training sessions. This training will have a significant impact on the mine action capacity in Equateur, especially through the reinforcement of the Humantias Ubangi teams.

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

To download the full July report in pdf format, go to www.maginternational.org/reports.