Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlphilippines



Philippines <![CDATA[The Philippines is affected by explosive remnants of war (ERW), especially UXO. The extent to which the islands are also affected by mines and IEDs is unclear. The Philippines has consistently denied in its Article 7 reports that it has any mined areas containing antipersonnel mines and says that whenever mines or IEDs are found they are immediately removed. However, a low level insurgency continues in which mines and IEDs have been used by NSAGs, and UXO continues to accumulate in areas of continued insurgency in the south.

Mindanao is affected by UXO resulting from conflict between the government and Muslim rebels dating back more than 30 years. ERW from armed conflict between the MILF and the AFP are periodically reported to injure villagers in parts of Mindanao. UXO contamination reportedly increased in 2007 because of an escalation of hostilities between the rebel MILF and the Philippine government involving use of air strikes and ground artillery.

In September 2007, PCBL and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) released a joint communique on mine action in the Philippines, calling once more on the government and MILF peace panels to carry out joint mine/UXO clearance in Mindanao. PCBL and FSD disclosed that a preliminary assessment showed the presence of explosive hazards in certain areas in Mindanao, in the form of fragmentation grenades, mortar rounds, artillery shells, and aerial bombs remaining from armed hostilities over the years. These explosive hazards pose a threat to evacuees returning to their homes and farms, and could hinder rehabilitation and development projects in their communities.

In 2007, landmines, ERW and victim-activated IEDs caused 25 casualties in five incidents, including nine people killed and 16 injured. Two of these were civilian, 21 were military and two were members of NSAGs. All non-civilian casualties were men. Of the two civilian casualties, one was a man and the age and gender of the other casualty was unknown.

Military or NSAG casualties occurred during military operations in NSAG-controlled areas.

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