Municipalities such as Palmira, Guadalajara de Buga and Pradera are being intervened with manual demining and non-technical studies carried out by the soldiers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No.6.
In demining work carried out twice in the first half of 2024, soldiers have decontaminated 60,015 square meters of suspected anti-personnel mines in the territory of Valle del Cauca, which leads the inhabitants to use their land for planting agricultural plantations or transit through their fields.
The mine clearance specialists in the same way destroyed four explosive devices and decontaminated two dangerous areas, strengthening the security and tranquility of the inhabitants.
Specifically, in the work of the municipality of Guadalajara de Buga, members of the Military Forces have intervened in 13 sectors, clearing 73,758 square meters and destroying an explosive device.
In Palmyra, 30,563 square meters were cleared of suspected anti-personnel mines, neutralizing the activation of four explosive devices.
In Pradera, although the municipality had been declared cleared, thanks to the information provided by the inhabitants, the mine clearance specialists cleared the residual risk in a dangerous area of 9,320 square meters that was decontaminated.
In addition, 37 workshops were held in the region to educate more than 2,200 people about the risks posed by anti-personnel mines, and thus strengthen safe behaviors.
In addition to the direct work on humanitarian demining, the soldiers planted 18,500 specimen trees such as Gualanday, Yellow Guayacan, Sauce Vela, Chirloberlo, contributing to ecosystem maintenance in the municipalities of Cali, Palmira and Candelaria. These seeds promote the transit of water through their deep roots and on the surface areas.
On the other hand, 270 people were trained in educational campaigns on planting trees and cleaning water sources, strengthening environmental education in the region.
Source: Press – Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No.6
