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FROM THE FIELD

A job less ordinary - clearing explosives from Gaza
10 Feb 2009 12:11:00 GMT
 Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
Website: Website: http://www.maginternational.org

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MAG Technical Director Mark Buswell (right) briefs UN drivers.
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MAG Technical Director Mark Buswell (right) briefs UN drivers.

Background

•  Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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Mark Buswell, MAG's Technical Director, has been inside Gaza for two weeks. As part of DFID's (the UK Department for International Development) response to the Gaza humanitarian crisis, Mark is working alongside the UN's Mine Action Service to help clear explosives and make life safe again for ordinary Gazans. He talks about his latest experiences:

"Today was very interesting, with a number of technical challenges.

"A number of large aircraft bombs, high explosive and white phosphorous projectiles have been gathered in an area inside Gaza City itself.

"This pile of explosives created a big problem. Storing white phosphorous right next to 7,500 kilogrammes of high explosive is definitely not a good idea. There's a risk it could ignite, causing an explosion which could damage a city centre area the size of the City of London [2.6 square kilometres].

"If there was a pile of explosives that size in the UK, then you would have to evacuate everyone within the area - not an option in Gaza. It was clear something had to be done - and quickly - so early this morning, we got the go-ahead to secure the white phosphorous.

"Medical teams and the fire service were on stand-by. The UN provided large water canisters and then, very carefully, we moved and separated the white phosphorous into the containers, reducing the potential for it to ignite. The containers were then filled and covered with sand.

"The next phase of this operation will be the removal and systematic destruction of the items, in a mutually acceptable location away from the civilian community.

"So far I've checked 37 out of the priority 40 schools for the threat of explosives. I have also been checking the main infrastructure routes throughout the Gaza Strip, as well as two medical clinics, a water treatment plant and an industrial plant.

"To be honest, we don't know the true scale of the problem here and we won't know that until a lot of the debris has been cleared.

"I have worked in lots of different conflict areas around the world - Cambodia, Africa, and I spent three and a half years in Iraq. When I arrive to start work in a new place, I don't consider the personal threat or danger, I just see it as a new technical challenge. That's my main focus."


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

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Topics

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

Background information

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Graffiti is seen on a wall in the Samouni family house in Gaza City February 8, 2009. During Israel's 22-day land, air and sea assault on the impoverished Gaza Strip, the ...


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