Anti-personnel mines have killed at least 227 civilians in the first nine months of the war in Ukraine, five times the number of deaths from this type of weapon in 2021, according to an annual report on the impact of these artifacts.
During the war in Ukraine, the Russian military used seven different types of mines, according to a study by the NGO International Campaign for the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (ICBL) and released this Thursday by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The non-governmental organization dedicated to the abolition of mines confirmed that Russia developed and produced this type of weapon between 2019 and 2021, although it does not exclude the use of mines of Soviet origin produced more than three decades ago.
In all, data from the study estimates that 26.5 million mines of this type could remain in storage in Russia.
The ICBL also highlighted the possibility of the use of anti-personnel mines by Ukrainian forces during the conflict, which would constitute a violation of the Ottawa Treaty, which Ukraine is a signatory to.
Ukraine says it is waiting for the destruction of 3.3 million of these mines.
In addition to Ukraine, and according to the ICBL study, 69 of the signatory states of the treaty stockpile anti-personnel mines.
In June 2022, the United States refrained from using, purchasing and producing new anti-personnel mines, leaving the list of countries producing this type of weapon.
One of the countries that produce anti-personnel mines is Myanmar, which along with Russia is the main concern for this NGO.
The Asian country has been using this type of weapon continuously since 1999, despite increasing it between 2021 and 2022 by using it alongside infrastructure such as telephone masts and gas pipelines.
In that country, mines also caused civilian casualties near religious buildings, areas of military operations and mine deposits.
Anti-personnel mines have also been used by armed groups in the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India.
According to the report, 5,544 people worldwide were injured by anti-personnel mines in 2021.
More than 75% of the victims are civilians, of which 50% are children.
Syria was the country with the most deaths and injuries (1,227), followed by Afghanistan, a signatory to the Ottawa Accord, with 1,074.
This year’s report was published a week before the start of the 20th Meeting of States Participating in the Mine Ban Treaty, which will take place in Geneva (Switzerland) between 21 and 25 November under the Presidency of Colombia and which for the first time will have the presence of the United States, signatories of the Ottawa Agreement.
Source: DN
