Britain vows to clear more land mines from conflict zones

LONDON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Department for International Development (DfID) announced Wednesday it is to mark International Mine Awareness Day by clearing more potentially deadly mines.
International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said Britain would help save an extra 50,000 vulnerable people from the threat of landmines worldwide.
Mordaunt said more children are dying as a result of mines. She warned that in many countries children live in fear and risk their lives every day to go to school or play with friends because years of devastating wars have left land littered with lethal, hidden mines.
DfID said 2016 saw more child casualties than ever before, and the highest number of total fatalities on record for more than 15 years. More than 8,600 people were injured and more than 2,000 people were killed during the year by landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflict.
British aid will help save the lives of 50,000 more people in South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Burma and Cambodia by clearing mines from land the size equivalent of over 19,000 tennis courts.
Mordaunt said: "It is unforgiveable that more innocent children than ever are being maimed or killed by landmines which have been left behind by decades of devastating wars. One wrong step on the way to school or during a game with friends can cost a life or cause a lifetime of pain and suffering."
British aid has already conducted mine clearing missions across the world, including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Twenty years ago, the late Princess Diana made worldwide news as she walked through a landmine-littered field to raise awareness of the devastating impact they have on innocent lives. 
Source: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-04/04/c_137088410.htm

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