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UN completes demolition of explosives at Maoist sites in Nepal
KATHMANDU, Dec 25, 2009 (Hindustan Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Three years after Nepal's 10-year-long civil war ended, a UN team on Thursday completed demolition of thousands of explosives stockpiled by Maoist guerillas across the country.
With demolition of 65 explosives at a Maoist cantonment site at Dasharathpur in Surkhet district by United Nation Mine Action Team, all seven cantonments of the former rebels have been cleared of these "dangerous items".
It was the end of a process involving Maoist army, UNMAT and United Nations Mission in Nepal to destroy all explosives at cantonments of the former rebels as agreed under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by Maoists and the Nepal government in 2006.
"This is a concrete step forward in the peace process. I commend leadership of Maoist army and Nepal Army for measures taken to purge their country of dangerous unexploded mines and improvised explosive devices," said UNMIN chief Karin Landgren.
According to an UN release, Nepal Army is also continuing clearance of its minefields and IEDs as per provisions of the CPA and with help of UNMAT. To date 15 of the 53 minefields and 105 of the 275 IED fields have been cleared.
After signing of the CPA, an audit of explosives in seven Maoist cantonments categorized all items as Priority 1 or Priority 2. Between April 2007 and July 2008, a total of 18,642 Priority 1 items including IEDs, detonators and other explosive accessories were destroyed.
From June 2009, UNMAT in coordination with Maoist army started destroying all Priority 2 items, which had become unfit for storage since the initial categorization. A total of 28,273 explosives were destroyed in the past six months.
'We must remember there is still work to be done, especially with regard to clearing the remaining minefields and IED fields' said Steve Robinson, UNMAT Programme Manager.
To see more of the Hindustan Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.hindustantimes.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Hindustan Times, New Delhi
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