MAG's emergency response project is supporting the post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Gaza by:
• Reducing the threat of death and injury posed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) to communities and humanitarian agencies working in Gaza
• Coordinating and cooperating with UNMAS and local authorities in order to identify and prioritise UXO-affected communities for emergency clearance activities
• Supporting provision of safe access for internally displaced people/communities and humanitarian aid agencies travelling to, and already within, communities
Between 25 and 30 January, MAG assessed six primary transportation routes in Gaza following requests from the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS).
In the same period, 27 schools were assessed for presence of UXO at the request of UNICEF and UNDP, while two medical clinics, a waste water treatment plant and an industrial plant were investigated for UXO.
During these activities, UXO was identified and made safe for removal and destruction.
Additionally, mine and UXO awareness briefings were given to over 50 staff members from non-governmental organisations in the area and safely handbooks distributed to over 30 humanitarian aid agencies entering Gaza.
MAG would like to express its gratitude to the following donors for supporting to the Gaza emergency response project: Department for International Development (UK) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A policeman frisks his colleague outside a polling station in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad January 28, 2009. Soldiers, police, prisoners and displaced people began early voting on ...
