Afghanistan to demine vast areas in hazardous eastern provinces

KABUL, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority announced late Monday the signing of a joint cooperation agreement with a leading mine clearance organization aimed at tackling the persistent threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Under the deal, the demining organization will clear around 1.88 million square meters of heavily contaminated land across multiple districts in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, and Nuristan, according to a statement issued by the authority.

The initiative also includes the establishment of rapid emergency response teams in the above-mentioned provinces and the delivery of mine risk education programs to 36,680 residents in affected communities, the statement added.

Once the project has been fully implemented, approximately 215,000 people will benefit from its outcomes.

Afghanistan is one of the most landmine-contaminated countries in the world, with dozens of people, mostly children, being killed or maimed every month due to the blasts of explosive devices left over from wars in the past decades. Enditem