Weaponry and Munitions Stockpile Clearance in Puntland!

[Amethyst]

The Mines Advisory group, MAG, (a humanitarian organization responsible for clearing the Remnants of Conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide, and also the co-laureate of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize) posted today, the pictures of the AMAZING amount of work they'd carried out a few weeks ago (mid April, 09) in Puntland. This was actually beautiful to see, as it should set a great model for the rest of the country, and God willing soon enough get us rid of the way too Weaponry that the foreigners (Peep where the weapons come from) are flooding us with! Really noteworthy to see how locals are being trained to have an active role in being able continue the work of the clearing as well!


Anyways, enjoy pictures below and say it with me....Tick Tick Kabooom!!


Seventy-eight Pakistan-made P4 anti-personnel landmines were found in a storage room in Bosasso. Three hundred people were living and working in the same compound where these were stored.

Three hundred and seventy Italian-made Breda hand grenades were stored in the main police station in Galkayo. They dated back to 1949. Around 1,000 people live and work in close vicinity to the police station and could have been affected if these grenades had accidentally detonated.

The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team carefully removed those items that could be safely transported back to the main demolition site in Garowe. Security is tight on journeys carrying cargo such as this.

At the demolition site, the MAG Technical Field Manager listens as the team explains how it plans to set up the demolition. Training the team on the management and safe implementation of bulk demolitions like this has been a major part of MAG 's role over the past 10 months in Somalia. The local media came to film the destruction for Somali Television.

The range of munitions found in Puntland reflect the conflict-ridden past of this region. The picture above shows weapons from Pakistan, Italy, USA and Russia.

Team members place the munitions in a demolition pit. If they are not arranged correctly the demolition can be very dangerous.

The items for disposal are dug down into the earth in order to minimise the risk of fragmentation and ‘kick-outs’ when the munitions function. All these munitions are designed to explode in different ways, so rigging up a bulk demolition like this one requires skill, experience, training and a strict adherence to procedure.

Detonating cord and small amounts of plastic explosive are used, so that the munitions can be destroyed in a controlled manner from a safe distance.

The demolition is detonated by the team from a safe bunker sunk into the earth 350 metres away. Even from this distance, the boom is incredible and the earth shakes.

A second demolition was carried out safely of some rockets filled with White Phosphorous. This is a particularly nasty munition as it burns the skin of people if they are in the area where it detonates.

[Advo]

Waaw, awesome post and picture.


Scary though, it says some of the explosives were made in '49, does that mean the italians burried them there or issit recent work, anywho this is great news and if they found that amount in that small area; I can only but imagine the rest of the country, sunxanallah.

[zingii]

One place at a time.

[nomadicwarlord]

The amount of mines that got cleared in Puntland is the equivalent of mines that got planted in a neighborhood in MOG. Sad but the truth.

[Amethyst]

The amount of mines that got cleared in Puntland is the equivalent of mines that got planted in a neighborhood in MOG. Sad but the truth.

Actually, not really. Mogadishu may be fulla conflicts, but generally most Somalis (nowadays, anyhow ) don't use mines against one another. Its usually foreigners who do this with no regard for anything living within our borders. Mines are more likely to be in border areas where large numbers of refugees and displaced persons have traveled through to prevent their movements (to, from, and within, Somalia). About 70% of them are also found along the Ethiopian borders.

Waaw, awesome post and picture. Scary though, it says some of the explosives were made in '49, does that mean the Italians buried them there or issit recent work, anywho this is great news and if they found that amount in that small area; I can only but imagine the rest of the country, sunxanallah.

Yep, def. scary! You will come across many that date way back, like the 1949' Italian ones, being the old remnants from the Colonial days, when borders were placed within our country. However, at least 300,000 mines have been placed in Somalia during the last few years. Believe it or not, its actually quite the lucrative business for Westerners to dump weapons that they'd be "morally bound" from using, into the dark continent fulla savages who wouldnt blink a second from using them. Unfortunately most end up in pastoral communities, near waterholes or by old military bases. Unless these Mines are cleared, like what Puntland is doing, our people will continue to get either Maimed themselves or have their cattle killed by them.

[sheekh-Farax-zero]

so professionals

[Amethyst]

Thursday, February 17, 2011

On 10 February 2011 MAG’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts working in Puntland, Somalia, destroyed more than deadly 380 anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mine fuses – the largest single destruction of mines MAG has done since starting work in the troubled region in 2008.

Senior local Police Commanders handed the mines to MAG’s Technical Field Managers (TFM’s) during a visit to the northern coastal town of Bosaso. The authorities in Puntland State of Somalia have signed the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action, pledging to ban the use, production, acquisition and transfer of AP mines, destroy their AP mine stocks, and facilitating mine action activities.

Alistair Moir, MAG’s Project Manager in Puntland, explains how this significant demolition shows the success of MAG’s work building partnerships with the national authorities in Puntland, working together to make the region safer for its people:

In every country we work, MAG works hard to adapt to each unique context in order to maximise our humanitarian impact, and in Puntland State of Somalia we’ve been working for more than two years now in conjunction with PMAC and the Puntland Police Force. When we first arrived in Puntland in 2008 we found out that the State had no capacity to carry out EOD tasks. Instead of creating our own stand-alone EOD team, we decided to help the authorities build their own capacity, to ensure a legacy the State can benefit from long after MAG no longer works here.

“Authorities in Puntland welcomed our flexible approach and agreed to respect MAG’s core humanitarian values, in return for us transferring our technical expertise to help communities up and down the country live free from the threat of lethal remnants of conflict. This productive working relationship has so far enabled MAG to safely remove and destroy 70 tons of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from Puntland – a great achievement that could save countless lives here.

“To maintain and safeguard our neutral stance in Somalia we constantly strive to interact positively with all sections of society. MAG’s Community Liaison Teams were created specifically to work with rural communities, while our presence in the state capital Garowe means we can co-operate easily with the various government ministries. MAG’s non-partisan stance and open attitude means we are willing to engage with the full and varied spectrum of Somali society, and the obvious transparency of our offers of assistance has developed trust and greater access to stockpiles of deadly weapons that were previously closed.

“We were extremely pleased to be able to assist PMAC and the Puntland authorities in the demolition of these mines, safely destroyed under the technical supervision of MAG’s Technical Field Managers (TFMs). It’s testament to MAG’s commitment to helping the people of Somalia, using our Humanitarian Mine Action skills, that the government agreed to hand over these indiscriminate weapons, ensuring they will never claim any victims.”

Ali Jama Hassan, Chief of Cabinet, Office of the President of Puntland said:

“The Government of Puntland thanks MAG and the Puntland Mine Action Centre (PMAC) for mine action activities, such as identification, disposal and public awareness of deadly mines. The Government appreciates the successful mine action activities which protect citizens including children and help contribute to overall security situation of Puntland.”

PMAC’s Director Abdirisak Issa Hussein, also noted the benefit of destroying such a stockpile in an area of heightened security such as Puntland:

“These mines have been a big threat to Puntland. We have many enemies in our towns who would use these against us. The removal of these items by MAG and PMAC working together is a great relief to the people and government of Puntland. I am very proud to be part of this process.”

Source: Reuters

------

Pictures.







Ready for destruction: anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mine fuses.




P4Mk1 AP mines being carefully positioned in the demolition pit.



The MAG-trained Police EOD Team prepare donor charges with detonation cord.



The demolition pit is prepared with the majority of AP mines at the bottom.



Gone forever. The lethal remnants of conflict go up in smoke.


The team after the demolition mission.

[Amethyst]

SOMALIA: Reducing fear in Garowe:




Fatima Farah has lived in fear for the last five years, knowing that there has been a dangerous hand grenade inside the metal shipping container lying outside her house where her family keeps its supplies in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State.

There is lots of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Puntland – a legacy of years of conflict and insecurity.

Until MAG started working with the Puntland Police in Garowe, there was no-one Fatima could turn to for help. The picture below shows Fatima’s children next to the container containing the grenade.

The MAG team was called on the ‘UXO hotline’ set up specially for the community in Garowe to alert MAG to tasks like this one.

Consisting of six members of the Puntland Police – seconded to MAG to be trained as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operators and supervised during operations throughout Puntland – the team is trained by two Technical Field Managers, one from Canada and one from Finland.

Recently, security in Puntland has improved, allowing MAG's full operations to be resumed. Once Fatima had called the team, an assessment of the task was carried out and an implementation plan put together.

After a couple of hours of carefully clearing through piles of very dusty spare car parts, household items and building supplies, the grenade shown in the picture above was located. It is ‘unfused’, so though it still contained explosive it could be safely moved by the team from outside Fatima’s house and taken to be destroyed at the demolition site outside of town. In addition, as the team searched the site they also found a projectile casing which was also taken away for destruction.

Fatima was overjoyed that she has use of her sea container again and doesn’t have to worry about her children finding the grenade and injuring themselves.

‘’This has been an obstacle for a long time for my family and me. I am so thankful to the team for doing this work. I hope that they will continue to make Garowe a safer place for everyone now that we have some peace.’’ As she said this, she was happily clutching a favourite pan for cooking rice that was found in the container and she had missed for the last five years!

[CismanMaxamud1]

SOMALIA: Reducing fear in Garowe:




Fatima Farah has lived in fear for the last five years, knowing that there has been a dangerous hand grenade inside the metal shipping container lying outside her house where her family keeps its supplies in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State.

There is lots of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Puntland – a legacy of years of conflict and insecurity.

Until MAG started working with the Puntland Police in Garowe, there was no-one Fatima could turn to for help. The picture below shows Fatima’s children next to the container containing the grenade.

The MAG team was called on the ‘UXO hotline’ set up specially for the community in Garowe to alert MAG to tasks like this one.

Consisting of six members of the Puntland Police – seconded to MAG to be trained as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) operators and supervised during operations throughout Puntland – the team is trained by two Technical Field Managers, one from Canada and one from Finland.

Recently, security in Puntland has improved, allowing MAG's full operations to be resumed. Once Fatima had called the team, an assessment of the task was carried out and an implementation plan put together.

After a couple of hours of carefully clearing through piles of very dusty spare car parts, household items and building supplies, the grenade shown in the picture above was located. It is ‘unfused’, so though it still contained explosive it could be safely moved by the team from outside Fatima’s house and taken to be destroyed at the demolition site outside of town. In addition, as the team searched the site they also found a projectile casing which was also taken away for destruction.

Fatima was overjoyed that she has use of her sea container again and doesn’t have to worry about her children finding the grenade and injuring themselves.

‘’This has been an obstacle for a long time for my family and me. I am so thankful to the team for doing this work. I hope that they will continue to make Garowe a safer place for everyone now that we have some peace.’’ As she said this, she was happily clutching a favourite pan for cooking rice that was found in the container and she had missed for the last five years!

[Pwani]

^^^ great job they should be rewarded

[damu]

mashallah great work indeed

[quark]

great work

[siren]

Masha Allah, Good work...

[Estarix]

Great work by MAG and local authorities.

It seems some of those explosives and weapons date back to the late 40s, but the latter ones i believe date back to the Barre regime, and some really nasty explosives were found among them too.

[FBISOMALIA]

i was Follow-up their news they doing great job to helping our somali ppl in puntland they are our heroes