Huila is 98% free of antipersonnel mines

With 98% free of antipersonnel mines, Huila is located, where only one municipality remains to be decontaminated.

The authorities continue to carry out demining work in the Huila territory, in order to provide security to the residents.

Huila is about to be declared a department free of antipersonnel mines, whereIt is expected that security and climatic conditions will allow this goal to be achieved next year.

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Colonel Carlos Tarazona, commander of the Humanitarian Demining Brigade, indicated that “We only need the Río Blanco village of the municipality of Baraya to resume work“What we were doing to determine that there is no contamination with explosive devices in the department.”

And despite the difficulties that have arisen in a large part of the country and the department with issues related to security,This year they have managed to advance considerably in the humanitarian demining of Huilaa great humanitarian work.

“Although last year we had an incidentin which unfortunately a vehicle was incinerated, which forced us to suspend demining operations;This year the conditions have allowed us to continue workingin decontaminating sidewalks and municipalities of the department,” added Colonel Tarazona.

In this way and with great commitment,Huila received the municipality of Colombia as number 18 of territories free of suspicion of antipersonnel minesthus leaving only 2% of the department waiting to be decontaminated of antipersonnel mines.

Deminers investigated and closed 237 eventsthey destroyed nine antipersonnel mines and one unexploded ordnance in a controlled manner, freeing more than 480,000 square meters with non-technical studies and clearing 7,305 square meters with manual demining.

“In Colombia, Huila we managed to deliver the entire municipality free of suspicion of antipersonnel minethanks to the work articulated by the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion No. 5, the Ninth Brigade, the civil authority of the department, the municipality and the population itself,” indicated Lieutenant Colonel Julián Martínez Suárez, commander of the Demining Battalion.

Ruling out the suspicion of antipersonnel mines in those areas that are protected, where residents also indicate they have seen the spectacled bear, gives hope to the population since they will be able to return to their homes and resume their life projects.

“We had a job where the history of victimsby antipersonnel minesin itmunicipality of Colombia there were 46,of which four were civilians and 42 were members of the public force. In the intervention we destroyed 10 explosive devices, we used our mechanical and manual demining techniques,” explained Colonel Martínez.

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In addition,The community was very important during this worksince they were the ones who guided the non-technical study teams, so that theyThey will manage to reach the border mountain range with Metaan area that is difficult to access for carrying out the operation.

“The areas that we had the most influence on were the valley sector, where we did very detailed work on the Páramo de las Oseras sector, and the Galilea Forest. Intervention on the Rubí sector, Lebanon, San Joaquín, La Sonora, La Unión, La Esperanza, San Marcos,places that suddenly had a greater level of detail in our operation,”indicated Colonel Julián Martínez.

By ruling out the suspicion of explosive devices in Colombia, where a great biodiversity of flora such as ecologically important cacti and fauna prevails,It is expected that locals and tourists will continue enjoying the tourist sites of the municipality and Huila.

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Besides,In the country, 20% is missing to achieve decontamination of the different territories,where to date there are 87 municipalities in intervention and 120 that are pending to be prioritized of the 1,122 municipalities that Colombia has.

“The initial statistic that was 62% of the territory contaminated, today is less than 20%for the intervention we are doing daily. As a humanitarian demining brigade, with the capabilities of the navy that are also intervening in the territory and with civil organizations that also contribute to this effort to declare the country free of antipersonnel mines,” said Colonel Carlos Tarazona.

Finally,In Colombian territory, the authorities have destroyed more than 25,000 explosive devicesand found more than one million eight hundred thousand metallic elements that could become a potential mine. Today Colombia is a world reference.