With the help of the Republican Mine Action Center, 1,216 hectares of Tajik territory has been cleared of landmines, with 20,000,000 square meters of land still needing to be swept, Ramil Nadirov, first deputy Minister of Defense, said at a news conference held on April 3 in Dushanbe, reported Khovar news agency.  He said that in signing the Ottawa Convention, Tajikistan assumed the obligation to remove all landmines on its territory by 2010.  He said a total of eight fields were de-mined in 2007. According to Nadirov, since 1997, 688 people have suffered injuries from landmines, 320 of which have died. Ramil Nodirov stressed that international organizations have invested over 1.5 million euro into mine removal efforts in Tajikistan.     

Tajikistan signed the agreement prohibiting mines and their production and the Ottawa Convention in 2000. April 4 is the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

This information was originally published on April 3, 2008.  (www.khovar.tj)