During this year, the mine clearance specialists of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Brigade have managed to find and destroy four anti-personnel mines, contributing significantly to the protection of life and the territories hit by these explosive devices.
Implementing the manual demining technique, soldiers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No. 5 carried out the controlled destruction of two anti-personnel mines in the village of El Retorno, in the municipality of Puerto Rico, strengthening the security of the department of Caquetá and leading the communities to move more calmly towards rural economic reactivation.
Similarly, as part of the Humanitarian Demining operations, mine clearance specialists of the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No. 7 found and neutralized an anti-personnel mine on a strategic road for the extraction of wood towards the village of Samaná, in the municipality of San Carlos, department of Antioquia.
This route is fundamental for the economic and social dynamics of the region, since the logging activity constitutes one of the main means of livelihood of the community. With the elimination of this explosive device, safe transit through the sector is restored, directly benefiting approximately 15 families of the Las Flores village.
In the same way, in the department of Meta, members of the Military Forces of the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No. 4 destroyed an anti-personnel mine in the village of La Libertad, in the municipality of Mesetas, favoring more than 30 families who today have a safer environment.
"Our commitment goes beyond the destruction of explosive devices. We work to restore peace of mind to communities, work to create safe environments and educate residents to recognize the risks and prevent accidents. Each mine-free municipality represents an opportunity for development and a step towards territorial peace," said Colonel Edwin Cedeño Borrero, Chief of Staff and second commander of the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Brigade.
It should be noted that one of the main challenges of the mine clearance specialists of Colombian National Army is to present 15 municipalities and areas free of suspicion of anti-personnel mines, as well as train 40,000 inhabitants in mine risk education, strengthening the prevention and protection of communities in the territories.
Source: Press – Humanitarian Demining Brigade
