7m Angolan land mines hidden
2006-03-29 08:48
Luanda - An estimated seven million land mines are still hidden in unmarked minefields across Angola, four years after a protracted civil war ended, says a government official.
Social affairs minister Joao Baptista Kossuma said that up to the end of last year, authorities and non-governmental associations had cleared about 56 000 anti-personnel mines, 8 500 anti-tank mines and 1.4 million pieces of unexploded ordnance.
Baptista Kossuma said the government was preparing a two-year programme to clear mines from farming areas.
According to the United Nations, Angola was one of the world's most mined countries.
The southwest African country spent most of four decades at war, starting in 1961 with its fight for independence from Portugal.
After independence in 1975, the Marxist government battled against rebels headed by Jonas Savimbi who was killed by the army in 2002.
- AP