* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
MAG has cleared 5,627 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and more than 50,000 small arms ammunition (SAA) items that were posing a significant danger to a community in Eastern Equatoria.
The explosive remnants of war were found abandoned around an old military post close to Pajok and the rapidly expanding Pugee Boma on the border with Uganda. This area was the scene of heavy fighting during the civil war.
Local people knew about the stockpile, and children were known to have played with some of the UXO – a risky activity with potentially fatal consequences.
In March, UNMACC tasked MAG to carry out an initial assessment of the area and, following further investigation, a MAG team funded by the US Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement worked from 17 to 19 May to remove the danger.
Items destroyed included rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), projectiles, mortars, rockets, plus 12.7mm and 14.5mm SAA.
• Thanks to UNMACC-South Sudan.
Thanks to the following donors to MAG's operations in South Sudan. Without their funding, our work in the country could not be carried out:
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands
• Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)
• Stichting Vluchteling
• UNDP
• UNICEF
• UNMAS
• US Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement.
