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Ddasaccident236, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The document stated that the victim was called to confirm the presence of a mine by one of his colleagues. He turned to comply, and as he did so his foot slipped "on a piece of wood" and he fell over. As he got up "he put his foot outside the cleared lane and detonated a PMA-3 which was buried and not visible".

Ddasaccident026, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

On the day of the accident a truck initiated a mine with its right front wheel as it turned onto the verge to unload. The driver was sitting above the wheel that caused the detonation. He escaped from the cab before it caught fire. He was taken to hospital but later discharged in "good health". The blast wave threw the truck one-meter forward, destroyed the wheel and made the cab and front tyres catch fire. [Photographs indicate minimal blast damage to the cab above the wheel arch – implying deflagration rather than detonation of the device, or an incendiary/small blast …

Ddasaccident158, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was clearing a portion of the minefield with bushes, grass and defensive wire. While he was searching for a tripwire with the feeler, the deminer set off a tripwire-controlled device with the feeler. He was not wearing a helmet and visor at the time.

Ddasaccident235, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The document stated that the deminers were working on a bare and stony slope. They were "familiar with the ground" and the minefield record. The victim stood at the edge of the mined area, stepped into it and saw a GORADZE mine. He asked a deminer behind him (the report records that the second man was "unprotected") to confirm the identification and moved forward. As he did so he stepped on a mine that he had not seen. As he fell backwards he detonated a second mine that he had failed to detect.

Ddasaccident082, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim had checked the area with a detector then started to cut the grass and bush with a sickle. He stepped on a mine that he has missed at the end of his work on the previous day. The investigation was limited by bad security in the area and the investigators were unable to validate a claim that the Schiebel detector signalled constantly and so was unreliable.

Ddasaccident228, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Prior to the accident the Team Leader had "used a machete to clear foliage and to inspect uncleared ground" in the accident lane. He did not use a detector or prodder. He advanced ten metres in this way, then handed over to the victim. The ten metres were counted as "cleared". The Team Leader was reported to have "used this system on other occasions to encourage deminers to clear areas faster". He was not wearing any protective equipment. During this time he missed what the report states was a "PMA" [I infer a PMA-3]. The deminers returned to work and …

Ddasaccident227, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim [who was wearing protective equipment including leggings] took over clearance at the new end-of-lane and had cleared about five metres when he stepped on a mine that may have been "concealed below a small rock". The Team Leader was close to the victim. Three other deminers hurried along the lane to his assistance and they carried the victim to the Control Point where the medic attended him. The victim suffered "bruising and flesh injuries to his lower leg and fractures to his left foot". He was not expected to require amputation. It took "approximately 15 minutes" to reach …

Ddasaccident084, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was clearing the side of a small stream when he got a detector signal and marked it, then prodded but could not find anything. He checked the reading but did not "remark" it and started to prod again. The mine detonated. The victim's visor shattered into many shards in the blast (as shown in a photograph). His bayonet had a bent blade and the handle had broken up.

Task 1c3 Humanitarian Demining Requirement Analysis Final Report, Cisr Jmu

CISR Studies and Reports

The Humanitarian Demining Information Center (HDIC) at James Madison University is developing a plan for identifying, analyzing, enhancing, and disseminating electronic and hard copy information relating to humanitarian demining. The first step toward realizing this objective was identifying the information needs, information availability and optimal methods for organizing and delivering information to the humanitarian demining community.

Ddasaccident057, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators visited the site on 9/10th July. They found that the accident occurred in a minefield laid by government troops in 1991/2. The mines were irregularly spaced in 3km long lanes. PPM-2 and POMZ-2 mines were found (largely) in different parts of the field. There was "scrub" about a metre high where the accident occurred and the ground was "hard clay with some organic mix" which allowed the use of detectors. Two parallel lines of PPM-2 mines had been found with an "exploratory base line". Further lanes were being cut to confirm the direction of the mine-lines. The accident …

Ddasaccident083, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The victim had been a deminer for three years. It was two months since he had last attended a revision course and seven days since his last leave. The area being cleared was described as "hard and bushy". The investigators decided that the mine involved was a PMN and that either the victim was cutting bushes without sweeping/detecting the area in front of him, or the deminer lost his balance while squatting to cut bush and stepped sideways onto a mine. His helmet was reported to have been damaged in the blast.

Common Circle For Human Rights, Vol.1, No.6 (July 1997), M. Lichtman

Common Circle for Human Rights (1997-2000)

No abstract provided.

Ddasaccident085, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim's detector was reading constantly so he was excavating with a shovel without having marked any suspicious points. He was prodding with a bayonet to loosen the soil, then removing it with the shovel. His shovel was "destroyed/lost" in the accident.

Ddasaccident231, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The document stated that the team was active demining in an area with a "mixture" of AP mines including improvised MRUD directional fragmentation mines. A deminer was defusing a MRUD and working directly in front of it. A second deminer was walking towards him to help and a third was observing "from about 10 metres away, also in direct line-of-sight". "The mine detonated killing the two…closest to it and severely wounding the third."

Ddasaccident086, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim had investigated a reading in the squatting position with a prod. He was not "wearing his helmet properly". They identified the mine as a PMN (from "found fragments") and recorded that the victim's helmet and bayonet were "destroyed".

Ddasaccident079, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The guide then mentioned another V-69 nearby and the two men inspected it. This mine had been tampered with or damaged but Victim No.1 decided that it was safe to move it to the new demolition site. Victim No.2 carried the fuze and detonators from the old site to the new one. Victim No.1 then asked Victim No.2 to lay the demolition cable. He was laying the cable and about 3m behind Victim No.1 when there was an explosion. He stated, "I can confidently say that the mines exploded while [Victim No.1] was busy laying the demolition charges".

Ddasaccident087, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was in a known POMZ minefield but neglected to use a tripwire feeler before advancing beneath a big bush with the detector, so pulled a tripwire with the detector head. It was recorded that there was "No damage to equipment", but photographs of a damaged Schiebel detector were included in the report.

Ddasaccident027, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

An investigation was made by the Deputy Director of the National MA authority and a UN QA officer. They found that the victim had stepped on a PMN on a disused track and suffered traumatic amputation to his left leg below the knee, injuries to his eyes and "small wounds" on his right leg.

Ddasaccident088, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that, after a dog had signalled at a spot, the deminer located a signal with a detector and marked it, then started digging with a pick. His partner warning him to change to a bayonet at the second marker but he ignored the warning. He dug up to the third marker with the pick, so struck the mine. His pick was "destroyed".

Ddasaccident101, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim thought a detector reading was a fragment and was careless when prodding. The mine was identified as a PMN (from "found fragments/pieces"). The victim's bayonet was "lost" and his helmet damaged.

Ddasaccident089, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was prodding with a bayonet in the squatting position, but was not wearing a frag-vest. He was wearing his helmet when he prodded onto a PMN mine. The victim's bayonet was "lost" and the helmet damaged.

Ddasaccident230, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The document stated that two teams were due to begin demining in adjacent mined areas at Grid reference CQ 088 850. The team commanders held records of the mined area and had a discussion about the accuracy of those records. One of them said the records were inaccurate but that he knew where the mines were. He led two of his men to show them where the mines were. At 10:45 one of the three men surveying the area activated a PROM-1.

Ddasaccident090, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was working in a bushy clearance lane with continuous detector readings. Because of the continuous reading, he was digging all of the area and prodded with excessive force and let off a PMN. They identified the device by "found fragments". The victim believing that he had touched a tripwire with his bayonet.

Ddasaccident091, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators determined that the victim was clearing an area containing numerous fuzes. Instead of destroying the fuze where it was, he carried the fuze to another place where he "might have" dropped it and caused the accident. The device was identified as a mortar fuze, one among many UXO spread around the area and blast damaged.

Ddasaccident092, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The investigators decided that the accident occurred because the victim ignored technical safety procedures and used a shovel for investigation and prodding purposes. He applied too much pressure on the device and "caused the explosion".

Ddasaccident058, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

No accident report was made available. The demining group's country office had no copy. The accident was listed on a simple spreadsheet held by the country MAC.The injury was given as "upper jaw".

Ddasaccident093, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The Investigators determined that the accident occurred when the Assistant Team Leader and the Section Leader went to inspect the site of another accident that had occurred the day before [believed to be 1st June]. They did this without the permission of the Team Leader, and without his being aware of it.

The Two Faces Of Peace Building, Michael Harbottle, Eirwen Harbottle

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

Terminology, if not precisely defined, can lead to misinterpretation and misunderstanding. This has been the case in the way in which the United Nations has been using peacemaking, peacekeeping and, more recently, peacebuilding. Agenda for Peace, produced by the UN Secretary General in 1992 suffers from some ambiguity in this respect. For example, it refers to the military performing a peacemaking role. The military cannot make peace, that is the role of the diplomat or politician. All that the military can do is to allay, defuse and help to end the manifest violence so that the peacemaking process can …

Field Diplomacy: A New Conflict Prevention Paradigm?, Luc Reychler

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

One of the most important challenges facing the global community in the next decade, is the prevention of destructive conflicts. Listening to the discourse in the United Nations and other governmental and non governmental organizations this may sound like kicking in wide open doors (Bauwens and Reychler, 1994). But the failure of conflict prevention and the high number of conflict zones, indicates that we still have a long way to go. A global survey of contemporary conflicts counts 22 high-intensity and 39 lowerintensity conflicts, and 40 serious disputes (PIOOM, 1995). In 1995 five groups were victims of genocides or …

Common Circle For Human Rights, Vol.1, No.5 (June 1997), M. Lichtman

Common Circle for Human Rights (1997-2000)

No abstract provided.