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UNMAS emergency response teams have continued to work in conflict areas to remove explosive hazards resulting from the fighting. Over the months of April and May UNMAS teams have been active in conflict areas, as well as in crisis areas in need of humanitarian assistance. The work has allowed for safe movement of local populations, as well as humanitarian actors and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

UNMAS supported the Mission’s Korean Engineering contingent in Bor in the maintenance of part of the Juba/Bor road. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to ensure the area they are working in is safe and free from Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). The Juba /Bor road was badly affected by the fighting and the area where the Korean contingent worked in was close to where Cluster Munitions are known to have been located.

In Malakal, UNMAS teams verified an area to be used for a NGO medical facility. After searching the area and providing mine risk education to the construction works, UNMAS advised the NGO to continue construction of the facility.

Despite the signing of the peace agreement between the two parties to the conflict in South Sudan, tensions continued in the town of Bentiu over the past two months. During heavy fighting on April 15 and the fall of Bentiu to SPLA In Opposition (SPLA-IO) forces, mortar and tank gunfire were heard in the vicinity of the UNMISS camp. Several canon fire arms even landed inside the UNMISS base. On the evening of 17 April, three loud explosions took place inside the UNMISS camp close to the POC site. Upon investigation, a rocket, located within the UNMISS base was safely removed by an UNMAS team dedicated to support UN and humanitarian partners in Bentiu.

In May, UNMAS successfully cleared further ERW items discovered less than two metres from the Rubkona/Bentiu airstrip enabling the Mission and humanitarian actors to resume flights to Bentiu.

More broadly, since the onset of hostilities, UNMAS rapid response interventions included providing emergency survey and clearance of mines/ERW and ammunition stockpiles, checking IDP camps, clearing helicopter landing sites, conducting  route survey and clearance, clearing markets and areas of high density, providing risk education and awareness training to populations and humanitarian actors; maintaining route assessment and verification teams to respond to credible threats; maintaining logistical and support bases in Malakal, Juba, Bor, Bentiu, and Wau to enable humanitarian partners to operate safely and respond in a timely and effective manner.

Since the outbreak of conflict in South Sudan in December 2013, Unity State has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting. During this period, four reports of anti-tank mines explosions have been confirmed on main routes in Unity State.

The first such incident occurred on 9 March 2014, in Guit County, on the Bentiu to Leer road. A landmine was detonated by an SPLA vehicle, reportedly killing four and injuring nine SPLA soldiers.

The second landmine strike occurred on 19 May 2014, when a truck hit an anti-vehicle landmine in Mayom County, Unity State, located approximately 19.7 kilometres west of Mayom Junction. One Kenyan national, the driver of the vehicle, died as a result of the landmine explosion.

On 6th June, a WFP-contracted truck transporting humanitarian cargo (including food) hit a landmine approximately three kilometres west of Mayom Junction. No casualties were reported. Most recently, on 14 June, an truck detonated an anti-tank landmine 20kms north of Bentiu at Manga Junction.

Following these incidents, UNDSS requested as an interim policy that all convoys on the Abeimnom-Mayom-Bentiu roads to be UNMAS lead and all humanitarian actors to ensure that planning of convoys is well coordinated with UNMAS. UNMAS has done so thus enabling the Mission as well as humanitarian actors transport humanitarian and Mission goods to Bentiu. One such UNMAS lead convoy in early June, comprised of 22 trucks, including fuel, being of vital assistance to UNMISS.

In response to each incident UNMAS teams were deployed to commence verification / clearance of the areas where the incidents occured. UNMAS continues to maintain road clearance teams operating in Unity State to reduce the threat to civilians of landmines and unexploded ordnance, to continue to create the conditions necessary for humanitarian assistance and to allow for safe movement of mission assets and personnel. At the moment, UNMAS teams are working on clearing the road from Mayom to Bentiu, where the explosions occurred, and creating a safe lane .

UNMAS continues to advise the mission, UNDSS, UN agencies and NGOs about landmine safety.

In addition to the work UNMAS is doing in the conflict regions of South Sudan, teams are continuing with work in the south of Central Equaotria to clear the explosive remnants which remain from the Suday Civil War.  

In the village of Kit , Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams are making site visits and finding and destroying explosives. During a thre day field trip, I met with a Community Liason team just after they had directed the EOD team to the area where Explosive Remnances of War (ERW) had been reported by the community.

A few kilometers further down the road, in a safe area, more deminers were being trained. In the above photo, a manual demining team is being observed for accreditation. Shown is a member of a nine person team, which includes two medics, waiting for the whistle to begin the next mine clearance shift. The team here works under a 15 minute work- 10 minute break schedule. 

The next day we went further down to Callifonia, to see an EOD spot task, where an UNMAS team was requested to retrieve mortars from under a tree just on the outskirts of the small village. Before going in, the team leader made sure there are no other mines around by asking the community about the area. All in all, a very fruitful field trip.

Iulia Toma - UNMAS Programme Officer

May 27, the Security Council extended UNMISS until November 2014 and revised its mandate to focus on four key areas: protecting civilians, creating the conditions for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and reporting on human rights and supporting the Intergovernmental Authority on Development mediation process as and when requested and within available capabilities.

UNMAS interventions provide robust support to the mandate, particularly to two of the four activities in the new mandate, namely the protection of civilians and creating the conditions for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

To read more on the new mandate please see: http://unmiss.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3465&ctl=Details&mid=6047&ItemID=3951828&language=en-US

This application is designed to complement the Landmine and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) Safety Handbook, produced by the United Nations. Its ultimate aim is to provide general landmine and ERW awareness and safety information to organisations and individuals working in the vicinity of areas affected by these devices in order to minimise the risk of accidents. It allows users to register with UNMAS their ownership of this app. On completing the various training sections, users are able to undergo the Landmine & ERW Safety Brief Test. On successfully passing the test individuals will be issued the UNMAS Landmine & ERW Safety Brief certificate.

This app also allows individuals working in the field to help reduce the effects of ERW & Landmines by reporting hazardous items or areas directly to UNMAS. A picture, GPS coordinates and any submitted text will be recorded, emailed to UNMAS and processed to the correct clearance agency. Your efforts in using this app may save someone’s life and will reduce the effects of ERW & landmines on affected communities.

To download please click on the following links:

For iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id720063438

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.eigo.unmas

For further information, please contact Iulia Toma at iulia.toma@unmas.org or iuliat@unops.org, or (+211) 959 002 709.

We would also like to hear any suggestions you may have on our reporting and let us know if there are any issues you would be interested in reading about in these updates.