LUANDA, June 11 (NNN-ANGOP) — Over USD 300 million are need by the National Inter-sectoral Commission for Demining (CNIDAH) to be able to clear about 174 kilometres of the Angolan territory of landmines by the year 2025.
CNIDAH representative, Adriano Gonçalves, was speaking to reporters on the fringes of an action against mine co-ordination meeting dubbed “Agenda 2025”.
He disclosed that Cuando Cubango, Moxico, Cuanza Sul, Bié, Benguela and Lunda Norte are the provinces with the highest quantity of landmines.
He added that the provinces that can be considered free of mines are Malange and Huambo.
In May 2017, Angola presented a request to extend its demining programme until Dec 31, 2025. The request was granted during the 16th meeting of the “Agenda 2025” member states.
According to a 2018 report from the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Angola is among the 12 countries and territories where the level of landmines presence is still deemed “massive”, with about 147.6 square kilometres needing demining intervention.
However, in 2017 the country managed to clear 1.2 square kilometres and destroyed about 3,546 landmines. — NNN-ANGOP
