The number of victims from landmines remains high: According to the organization Handicap International, there were more than 4,700 dead and injured worldwide in 2022 – mostly civilians. Most of the victims are in Syria. Several countries are currently still using landmines.
In 2022, more than 4,700 people were killed or seriously injured by mines and unexploded bombs. This is reported by the organization Handicap International (HI). 85 percent of the victims were civilians, according to the report published in Munich Landmine Report 2023 emerges.
Half (49 percent, 1,171 total) of civilian casualties for whom age was recorded were children. Syria recorded the highest number of killed and injured people for the third year in a row in 2022 with 834 reported victims, followed by Ukraine (at least 608 victims), Yemen (582) and Myanmar (545).
Last year, the Landmine Monitor listed 5,544 victims. However, co-author Loren Persi highlighted that the number of victims of landmines and other explosive devices deliberately placed on the ground or underground increased significantly in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Handicap International
Handicap International / Humanity & Inclusion (HI) says it is a non-profit organization for emergency aid and development cooperation that is active in around 60 countries. She is committed to a solidarity-based and inclusive world. The organization’s goals include a world without mines and cluster bombs as well as the protection of the civilian population during war. HI is a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Handicap International eV is the German association of HI.
Landmines remain deadly long after conflict
According to the statement, the high number is primarily due to the fact that armed conflicts continue to increase worldwide. In addition, contamination from improvised mines has increased since 2015. “The number of victims registered as specifically caused by anti-personnel mines has increased by a good 50 percent,” co-author Persi told the AFP news agency.
The armed forces of Russia and Myanmar used anti-personnel mines on a large scale. This also applies to non-state armed groups in at least five countries: Colombia, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Tunisia.
“We also observe that areas remain contaminated for long periods of time. This leads to casualties long after the conflict has ended,” explained Eva Maria Fischer, head of the organization’s political department in Germany.
Fischer cited Yemen as an example. Violence there has decreased significantly since a ceasefire in October 2021. But people would continue to fall victim to unexploded bombs. In 2022, almost 600 people were killed or injured in this country by mines, improvised explosive devices or explosive remnants.
Countries continue to use mines
During the reporting period, some of which extends to October 2023, new cases of landmine use were reported by Myanmar, Russia and Ukraine.
According to the information, Myanmar’s armed forces have been using more mines since 2021. They deployed them near critical infrastructure such as cell towers, mining companies and energy pipelines. The Russian armed forces, in turn, have made extensive use of anti-personnel mines, reportedly at least 13 different types, since the invasion of Ukraine began on March 24, 2022. Landmines were laid in eleven of the 27 Ukrainian regions.
But Ukraine also used the weapon at least once – in the city of Izjum when it was under Russian control in 2022. Ukrainian authorities are currently investigating the circumstances under which their armed forces used anti-personnel mines in this case.
A total of 85 countries were contaminated with mines
In 2022, global support for clearance, victim assistance and risk education totaled $913.5 million, up 52 percent from 2021, according to the report. Nevertheless, support is insufficient, especially for areas with low levels of contamination.
The landmine monitor was published on the occasion of the annual conference of the states parties to the international treaty against anti-personnel mines, which will take place in Geneva from November 20th to 24th under the chairmanship of the German diplomat Thomas Göbel. The agreement, which now has 164 contracting states, was concluded in 1997. It prohibits the use, storage, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and obliges to support landmine victims as well as to clear mines and destroy existing stocks.
Handicap International is calling on the international community at the conference to urge conflicting parties to “stop the use of these barbaric weapons.”