Following the initial on-site examination of the area, where a number of mines were discovered in November 2023 at Hell’s Kitchen, located on the Murrell Peninsula, north of Stanley, Guy Marot OBE, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Advisor on behalf of Fenix Insight Limited presented a comprehensive Clearance Plan which has been agreed by the Falkland Islands Government, FIG.
The Falkland Islands Executive Council (ExCo) approved a proposal to remove the fences which secured former minefield sites around the Islands over a three-year period of 2021 to 2024.
The Falkland Islands have been cleared of deadly landmines laid during the 1982 conflict and will be celebrating the occasion with two major events on Saturday, November 14. The legacy of the war with the occupying Argentine forces had meant that large areas of the Islands, for 38 years, were previously off-limits.
She born and raised in the Falklands in a family long established in the Islands, and belongs to the first generations of Islanders who went to university, helping to transform a lethargic sheep-farming colony into a vibrant, proud community with a vigorous sense of self-sufficiency and country spirit.
Five members of the SafeLane demining team operating in the Falkland Islands were involved in a road traffic incident on December 21. John Hare of Safelane Global told Penguin News the vehicle was the second in a convoy of three.
The 164 signatory countries to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) agreed on Friday to accelerate the work to achieve the goal of a “mine-free” world in 2025, Norway's foreign ministry said.
The minefields around the Falkland Islands capital, Stanley, dating back to the South Atlantic conflict, have remained largely untouched for most of nearly 35 years, due to the restrictions in place around access to the minefields. Over this time, they have become a haven for Falkland’s wildlife.
The Falkland Islands Demining project has scheduled another planned demolition next Friday, 18 May and has set out preparations in a release.
As Mercopress have reported in a series of articles over the past eight years, the Falkland Islands are slowly being cleared of the landmines laid by Argentine forces during the 1982 war. Last week this process reached a key milestone when Goose Green settlement, the site of a key battle in late May 1982, was announced as being mine-free.
DYNASAFE Bactec recently returned to the Falkland Islands to continue demining operations, namely the completion of Phase 5a by March 18. “The break of around 10 weeks has allowed us all to recharge our batteries to finish these remaining tasks,” said Project Manager Julius Unsung.