Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlrwanda



Rwanda <![CDATA[Rwanda has a problem with landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of the 1990–1994 war against the government that committed the 1994 genocide, from the retreat of the army and Interahamwe militias to neighboring countries, and their subsequent attacks launched from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1996–1998 in the northwest of the country.

In a 2002–2003 assessment, four of the 12 former provinces (since 2006, Rwanda has only five provinces) reported a mine threat: Byumba, Gisenyi, Kigali (including in the capital itself), and Ruhengeri. Two additional minefields were discovered in Ruhengeri after the assessment; both have since been cleared.[16] After several years in which its demining program had come almost to a standstill,[17] from 2006 Rwanda has made significant progress in reducing its mine problem.

Furthermore, although the known mine problem is confined to one small area of the country with limited impact on the nearby communities, in the past mines have affected wildlife, specifically the mountain gorilla, one of the two most endangered apes in the world. Following the death of two gorillas in the 1990s, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme requested the Rwandese Patriotic Army (RPA) to clear the mines. Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcano National Park where the gorillas live resumed in 1999.

The mined areas in Kicukiro district in Central province and Nyagatare district in Eastern province still have a negative socio-economic impact. Both areas block the use of fertile agricultural land. Mine action in Rwanda is a “complementary activity in the fight against poverty,” according to Major Wilson Ukwishaka, NDO Deputy Coordinator. After land has been cleared, the NDO jointly draft land use strategies with government agricultural experts. Mine clearance has also released land to support the tea industry and increase exports.

In 2007, there were at least 10 new mine/ERW casualties in Rwanda, including three people killed and seven injured. The NDO recorded nine antipersonnel mine casualties (three killed and six injured). Landmine Monitor media analysis identified a boy severely injured by a grenade he found while collecting firewood. Four of the casualties were children aged between 10 and 16 (three boys and one girl), one was a women and the others were men (military/civilian status unknown).

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