Humanitarian Impact of Mine Clearance

Kafer Tibnite is one of the villages that were liberated after the Israeli withdrawal in 2000; it is located in Al Nabatiyah district, South Lebanon. Just like most of the other villages in this area the presence of Mines and UXOs still threatens the lives of the locals, hinders any development and creates an obstacle to their every day life.
Mr. Hassan Aaref Zaytoun, a landowner in Kafer Tibnite, was displaced to Africa due to the Israeli Occupation, and recently came back to rebuild his parents house that was destroyed by the war in order to live in it with his new family and rehabilitate the land around it. Unfortunately, this was not possible since his land is contaminated with mines. Mr. Zaytoun reported this to the UNMAS Programme in South Lebanon who started clearance operations in June 05, located and destroyed several AP Mines and delivered back the cleared area to him.Mr. Zaytoun is very happy and grateful with the clearance done by MACC SL. Now his dream has become true, and he has started building a home for his family where they can live back in their village

One of the main tasks in the Phase 3 OES area was the clearance of a minefield belt in Al Qlaiaz. The belt, laid twenty years ago, was estimated to contain 13,000 AP mines. Located below the town of Marjayoun it extended from Burj Al Moulouk village to Debbin, a distance of five kilometres. The El Qalaiz minebelt consisted of 4 rows of AP mines extending a minimum width of 10 metres, depending on the ground. It was fenced with barbed wire, indicating clearly it was a protective minefield for the Marjayoun area.

For operational purposes the minefield belt was divided into phonetically named sections from Alpha to Kilo. Each section comprised a number of minefields, but this arrangement simplified the process of recording the clearance. Demining assets were spread along the sections enabling many teams to work on the belt simultaneously, while respecting the safety distances.

This was the most western border post marking the start of the occupied area. It is located next to the Mediterranean sea on the coastal route south from Tyr.
The minefields surrounding the post have been cleared during Phase 2 of the OES project.

Situated close to the village of Al Bayyadah is a major commercial development that has commenced in a former mined area, now cleared through the OES project. The area contained seven different types of Anti-Personnel and Anti-Tank mines, and also incorporated a large cluster bomb strike area from which 842 cluster bombs were located and destroyed.
Clearance of the 1.7 million square metre area has released land that is now being subdivided into 800 plots; each with new road accesses, and water and sewerage services.
The location is very attractive geographically; on the coast a few kilometres south of Tyr with panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea. The developers also plan for a hotel complex and recreational activities in the area; both of which are sure to attract visitors both from within, and outside Lebanon.

The village of At Tiri was hit by cluster munitions strikes in 1978. During the occupation the majority of the 5,000 residents left the village with only 100 remaining throughout the conflict.

In April 2002, shortly before the OES project began a young boy was killed and two of his brothers were injured, one seriously, when a cluster bomb (BLU 63) they were playing with exploded.

The cluster bombs covered a wide area incorporating many residences and public facilities. The areas surrounding the school and the medical facility have now been cleared, and while the school is not yet being used it has been rehabilitated ready for the next years’ enrolment. The medical facility awaits rehabilitation and equipment.
A new mosque has been built in the former cluster strike area, funded by a woman from Qatar.
A total of eight CBU areas were cleared under the OES project, and two minefields.

The total land area released through clearance of the sub-munitions within the village was 228,377 square metres.

Land hosting part of the pipeline taking water from the Al Wazzani spring, near Al Wazzani village, was cleared of Anti-Personnel mines during Phase 2 of the OES project. This ambitious project would not have been possible without the input provided by the OES mine clearance. Water coming from the Al Wazzani spring feeds villages including Al Khiam, Al Qlaiaz, Marjayoun, Kafer Kela and Sarda villages; all located in the north east of the OES project area.
An opening ceremony was held for the Al Wazzani Water Project on 16 October 2002 when water from the spring started to pump through the pipeline.

The village of Bayt Yahun, situated on the border between OES 2 and OES 3 in the Phase 2 area was the start point of the Operation Emirates Solidarity project when clearance began in May 2002.
Bayt Yahun was surrounded by minefields; a total of twenty one areas containing anti-personnel mines were cleared.
The following are before and after images from a couple of the minefields there.

The three photos that follow relate to MF 500 which ran alongside a partly completed home and down behind the house to an agricultural area, as shown in the second photo.

Many new homes have been constructed, and other partly constructed homes completed since the minefields have been cleared. People have planted their lands predominantly in vegetables and olive trees. The Post Clearance Review of the area confirmed total confidence in the land by the landowners.

During the official handover of minefields cleared in Bayt Yahun landowners received their handover certificates from the national mine action institution, the National Demining Office.
On this day, the first tree was planted in the village under the auspices of a “Trees for Mines” project initiated by the PRSG for South Lebanon, Mr Staffan de Mistura. A total of 16,500 trees have now been planted in Bayt Yahun with funding from the Swedish government. Some have been planted inside former minefields, while others are lining the main road.