During the intervention, 250 meters from a house, in the village of Los Alpinos, which had suspected anti-personnel mines, soldiers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Battalion No. 1 destroyed in controlled conditions an anti-personnel mine detected by inhabitants of that area of the municipality of La Montañita, Caquetá.
The strange object that was found on a property caught the attention of inhabitants who were carrying out their agricultural work and preferred not to touch it, and to contact the mine clearance specialists who work in the sector. Immediately, the members of the Military Forces went to the place to verify the facts and thus identified an anti-personnel mine that they proceeded to destroy, thus eliminating the risk for the inhabitants of the area.
The mine clearance specialists, who have been carrying out this risky and arduous work, have clear 76,474 square meters in the department of Caquetá in 2024, completing 12 areas free of suspicion of contamination by explosive devices.
In addition, in order to raise awareness, prevent accidents and encourage residents to adopt safe behaviors in the face of explosive devices, anti-personnel mine risk education promoters have trained more than 1,200 people through lectures, information brochures, loudspeakers and radio stations. In these spaces, they teach people what to do when finding an explosive device and the risks that these cause.
It should be noted that this year the work of the humanitarian demining of Colombian National Army has led five families of the municipality of La Montañita to return to their territory where they are already carrying out productive projects. However, it is expected that more inhabitants of the region will be able to return to their lands in the future.
Source: Press - Humanitarian Demining Brigade
