This year’s International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action was observed at UNISFA Headquarters Abyei on Tuesday with a 5-kilometer run presentation of medals and trophies to deserving winners in the various sporting events.

While addressing participants at the award presentation ceremony climaxing the activities commemoration of the Day, the UNISFA Acting Head of Mission and Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr bemoaned the vulnerability of the communities to the adverse effects of mines that kill or maim their victims.

He said that in Abyei, the threat of mines is real, and their effects could be devastating, especially as the communities try to stabilize after the conflict, a UNISFA press statement said.  

“He averred that on several occasions, mines and other munitions have been discovered in communities, the last being an RPG unexploded bomb discovered at Kadhian village,” the statement read.  “General Sawyerr explained that Mine Action makes it possible for peacekeepers to carry out patrols during the implementation of their mandate, especially for the protection of civilians. It also assists humanitarian agencies deliver assistance and relief materials to communities and for ordinary people of Abyei to live a normal life without apprehension of death or injury.”

General Sawyerr commended the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for their efforts to rid the Abyei Administrative Area of mines and munitions and make the place conducive for daily life activities.

In his remarks, UNMAS Chief, Jes Luckett, announced that in the past few months, UNMAS teams have located 208 small arms ammunition within the IOM Vocational Training Center in Abyei and removed 66 explosive hazards from Agok and surrounding areas, providing conditions for internally displaced people to return to their homes, once overall security improves.

“He posited that UNMAS plays a very critical role in contributing to improved food security and enhancing communities’ resilience against the threat of explosive hazards, adding that it is a catalyst for progress toward the sustainable development goals, for Abyei and other mine and explosive hazard-affected communities, around the world,” the statement said. “He thanked UNISFA leadership and all components of the mission as well as implementing partners for their support and pledged UNMAS’s commitment to peace and security in Abyei Area.”

In his statement on the annual event, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented the terrifying legacies of landmines and explosive ordnance that litter communities even after the fighting and conflict, stressing that even peace brings no assurance of safety when roads and fields are mined when unexploded ordnance threatens the return of displaced populations, and when children find and play with shiny objects that explode.