DUSHANBE
, April 20, Asia-Plus — Two persons, a 24-year-old deminer from
Tajikistan
’s Mine Action Cell (TMAC) Azam Asrorov and a 48-yer-old French serviceman Gilles Sarrazin (phonetically spelled) have been blown up by a landmine during a landmine-clearing operation along the Tajik-Afghan border.
TMAC deputy director, Parviz Mavlonqulov, has told Asia-Plus that the accident took place near the
village
of
Halqobod
in the Panj district Wednesday [April 19] morning, where efforts are under way to clear the area of landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The deminers were seriously injured after a land mine along the Tajik-Afghan border exploded. The deminers were taken to the central district hospital, where Mr. Gilles Sarrazin died from wounds received. “Azam Asrorov received slight wounds and at present he is under control of doctors,” Mr. Mavlonqulov said.
As it had been reported earlier, TMAC started demining in this part of the Tajik-Afghan border, which is one of the highest mine-risk areas in the republic, in early April.
Most of the landmines in
Tajikistan
were laid during the country”s five-year civil war (1992-1007), but they can also be found along
Tajikistan
’s common borders with
Afghanistan
and
Uzbekistan
. Russian border troops, who were stationed in
Tajikistan
, reportedly laid minefields on the border with
Afghanistan
.
Tashkent
began laying mines on parts of its border with
Tajikistan
in 1999 to stave off incursions by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) militants. There are no any special engineering and technical installations on the border, which would demarcate the border, and Tajik civilians living in border areas could never be sure whether they were in Tajik territory or had inadvertently crossed over into
Uzbekistan
.
IRIN quoted the TMAC as saying that since 1992, 238 people have been killed and another 239 have been injured by anti-personnel landmines and unexploded ordnance in the country.
