MAG Burundi report - April 2011

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Reporting Period: 1-30 April 2011 Summary: • Training of nine Civilian Defence personnel in Explosive Ordnance Disposal and demining;• Completion of one demining task and one EOD task by the MAG-Civilian Defence demining team;• Clearance of 269 square metres of land by the MAG-CD demining team;• Rapid response to three EOD spot tasks by the MAG-CD demining team;• Destruction of three explosive items by the MAG-CD demining team. The clearance project, funded by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, continued this month. The training of nine Civilian Defence (CD) personnel in demining and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) was successfully completed on April 15. The MAG-CD demining team then worked to clear two areas in Bubanza province. The team first cleared 244 square metres of land surrounding an electric pylon where an unexploded mortar was discovered and immediately destroyed in situ. Fear of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) had prevented the national electricity company, Regideso, from working on the pylon for several years. The suspected presence of ERW created a sense of unease among the local population, who feared that someone, particularly a child, could get hurt. This prevented the population from accessing the land for agriculture – a vital source of income for many in Burundi. The team then cleared 25 square metres of land where, according to the local population, a mortar had landed during the war. After excavation, the team confirmed that the mortar had exploded, removed the remaining shrapnel and returned the area to its owner who can now cultivate it without fear of injury. In addition, the team responded to three emergency EOD tasks in Bujumbura: one hand-grenade found in a field near a school, another hand-grenade found in a private backyard, and one mortar found in a scrap metal yard. MAG continues to look for funding to implement Weapons and Ammunition Physical Security and Stockpile Management projects with the Force de Défense Nationale (Burundian Army). MAG would like to express its gratitude to the following current donors to the Burundi programme: Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. For more on MAG's work in Burundi go to www.maginternational.org/burundi.