The Anti-personal Landmine Epidemic and Virtual Contemporary Art Exhibition of humanitarian disaster caused by anti-personal landmines Conference, May 12, 2021

AP Mines / ERW Contamination in Libya

Introduction:

Landmine contamination in Libya is a legacy from World War II, as well as subsequent armed conflicts with Egypt in 1977 and Chad in 1980-1987, which led to the laying of mines on the Libyan border with these two countries. It is also believed that the Libyan border with Tunisia is polluted. During Muammar Gaddafi’s four decades of rule, mines were laid around a number of sites, including military installations and major infrastructure.

Mines were used by government and opposition forces during the 2011 conflict that led to the overthrow of Gaddafi. The concentration of violent conflict in urban areas has polluted densely populated cities, complicating survey, and clearance efforts. In January 2020, the United Nations estimated that Libya was contaminated with some 20 million mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW)[i].

Over a million explosive remnants of war and nearly 54 tons of small arms ammunition have been removed across Libya since 2011.

Casualties:

In Libya, from 2008 to 2019, mines / ERW killed 436 people and injured 2,915 others. In 2019 there were 11 dead and 14 injured, a total of 25 casualties[ii]. According to the latest statement from the Libyan Mine Action and War Remnants Center[iii], the number of mine / ERW victims from May 2020 to March 2021 reached 236 victims, of whom 93 died and 143 were injured, civilians accounted for 69% of the total casualties in the said period[iv]. The large increase in the number of casualties[v], especially among civilians, compared to 2019, is due to the mines and improvised explosive devices (IED’s) planted by the militias loyal to Khalifa Haftar and the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group, in

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The large increase in the number of casualties[i], especially among civilians, compared to 2019, is due to the mines and improvised explosive devices (IED’s) planted by the militias loyal to Khalifa Haftar and the Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group, in residential areas, health and service facilities, in the southern suburbs of Tripoli, and in the areas surrounding the city of Sirte, in addition to ERW’s.

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LHRS-AP-Mines-and-ERW-Cantamination-in-Libya-2021-EN-1