UN mine action chiefs for Ethiopia and Sudan call for more funding

The heads of United Nations landmine action programmes in Ethiopia and Sudan have called for more funding and awareness of contamination by munitions.

Both say mines kill and maim a disproportionate number of children, adding that people cannot return to safety without addressing explosive hazards.

Speaking at UN headquarters in New York, the Ethiopia chief said these hidden munitions continue to take a toll in times of peace and that stability in the region is at stake.

“Ethiopia at the moment risks becoming the forgotten post-conflict,” said RobSyfret, the UN’s chief of the Mine Action Programme in Ethiopia.

“There are many crises in the world today that are taking up attention and resources. But neglecting countries on the path to peace will result in them sliding back to war.”

Ethiopia, a country which over the last century has spent more than 30 years in a state of war, is among the world’s most contaminated by landmines.

“Over the last five years, there have been at least 1,500 victims of explosive ordnance accidents of various sorts. Of these, well over 50 per cent have been children," he said.

His Sudan counterpart, Mohammad Sediq Rashid, called the scale of contamination in that country “alarming” because the war is being fought in cities.

“In Khartoum, explosive hazards are widespread, found in homes, on roads, in schools and hospitals, across critical infrastructure, often mixed with rubble. In addition, a land mine threat has emerged, with seven minefields identified so far in the city,” he said.

While the Sudanese capital has been re-taken by the army from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that controlled the city for nearly two years, Rashid said reconstruction and restoration of services cannot begin without first dealing with these munitions.

“Sudan was already dealing with legacy contamination from decades of conflict. The current war is adding a new and complex layer of contamination across densely populated areas,” he added.

Amid the ongoing civil war, Rashid said around 13 million people are at risk of injury or death from munitions.

The 2025 Landmine Monitor report found that civilian deaths and injuries from landmines and explosive remnants of war have risen to their highest level in four years.