Thursday, August 21, 2003
Kenya to destroy 36,000 landmines in August
Agence France-Presse Nairobi, August 20
Kenya will this month destroy most of its anti-personnel landmines, National Security Minister Chris Murungaru said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The government of Kenya agrees with the Ottawa Treaty and will by 26 August, destroy 35,774 assorted anti-personnel landmines worth over 30 million shillings ($400,000). However, we shall retain 3,000 mines for research purposes," Murungaru said.
The use of landmines in the world was banned under the Ottawa Treaty in June 1997 and Kenya ratified the treaty banning their use, stockpiling and transfer four years later.
"Kenya supports the importance of the Ottawa Treaty and considers landmines as a weapon which carries a level of humanitarian cost that far outweighs their limited military value," Murungaru said.
In July, two Kenyan police officers were killed and six others seriously injured in landmine explosion in the northern Mandera district, bordering war-torn Somalia and southern Ethiopia.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior permission