UNIFIL deminers from China started work in a second UNIFIL position this week to clear the base and its perimeter of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) and other explosives from the recent hostilities.
The operation is taking place at UN Position 6-50, located along the Blue Line southwest of the village of Yaroun, and is expected to continue for at least two weeks.
A UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura, which is the westernmost UNIFIL base along the 120-km Blue Line, was the first to undergo demining operation since the recent hostilities. Since 23 April, Chinese deminers have cleared 558 square meters of land in and around the Ras Naqoura base. Clearance operations there are ongoing and expected to last another month.
According to the Lebanon Mine Action Centre (LMAC), a national authority, more than 1.7 million civilians across Lebanon are now at risk from UXO contamination following the recent conflict. Of those, at least 700,000 are located in southern Lebanon, with the majority residing within UNIFIL’s area of operations.
To address the growing threat, UNIFIL has significantly ramped up its demining efforts. Fifteen teams from China, Cambodia, France, Italy, and Spain are currently engaged in explosive ordnance reconnaissance, clearance, and disposal. Among them, seven teams have been newly deployed to bolster UNIFIL’s capacity to effectively mitigate UXO and improvised explosive device (IED) risks.