Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlcolumbia



Columbia <![CDATA[

The precise extent of Colombia’s mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) problem is unclear. Since 1990, mines, IEDs, and other explosive ordnance have been used in Colombia during the conflict with National Security Affairs Groups (NSAGs) and paramilitary forces. It is reported that antipersonnel and antivehicle mines laid by NSAGs are found along routes used by government forces and around NSAG bases, in rural areas, around schools, houses, national parks, indigenous communities’ land, and coca production sites.

In November 2007, a British Royal Engineer who led training of 130 deminers at the Colombian Armed Forces Engineers School said, “The problem that the Colombian soldiers and civilians have to deal with on a daily basis is similar to what our troops have to deal with in Afghanistan, if not worse.” The main problem in Colombia according to the British Royal Engineers is nuisance mining and IEDs planted by NSAGs.In an interview with Landmine Monitor, Colonel Alexander Carmona, the Commander of the Engineers School, said army troops are the primary target of mines and IEDs, and incidents occur during military engagements as well as during military clearance, when mines are detonated by remote control. “The intent and effect of the mines is massive with multiple casualties for each incident.”

Although Colombia maintains a database that includes information from as far back as 1990, the database is more of a conflict monitoring system than an accurate appraisal of Colombia’s mine problem.[48] So-called “events”—a generic term specific to mine action in Colombia that encompasses “incidents,” “accidents,” “suspected hazardous areas,” “UXO,” “deactivation” of devices, and “military demining”—have occurred in 31 of Colombia’s 32 departments, the only exception being the Caribbean archipelago department of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina.

In 2007, for the first time since 2002, there was a decrease in recorded casualties due to explosive devices in Colombia, but figures still remained among the highest in the world due to continued use of explosive devices and ERW contamination.

In 2007, Landmine Monitor identified at least 895 casualties, including 193 people killed and 702 injured

However, under-reporting of civilian casualties is certain as many people do not report incidents for fear of being suspected of belonging to NSAGs or of being threatened by NSAGs. Also, most casualties occur in remote rural areas or areas where conflict is ongoing, and there is a lack of data collection capacity. Several organizations stated that the majority of mine/ERW casualties are only recorded once they seek government assistance.

Of the 190 civilian casualties recorded by PAICMA for 2007, 36 were killed and 154 injured in 112 incidents. At least 28 of the casualties were indigenous people. For 86 casualties the activity at the time of the incident was not recorded or was recorded as “other.” When recorded, “passing by” was the most common cause (87). Civilian casualties were recorded in 19 departments; all but one, an ERW tampering casualty in Bogota, occurred in rural areas. ]]> <![CDATA[]]>