Afghanistan’s conventional anti-personnel mine contamination resulted from the decade-long war of resistance that followed the Soviet invasion of 1979, the 1992–96 internal armed conflict, and the 1996−2001 fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance. Afghanistan estimated that the area affected by mines dating from before 2001 amounted to 147 km2, and anti-personnel mines, including improvised mines laid after 2002, covered 191 km2 at the end of 2021.
The end of widespread active hostilities after the change of government in August 2021 has allowed surveys in large swathes of the country that were previously inaccessible due to insecurity. For the first time, this has generated the opportunity to assess the extent of contamination by improvised mines widely used by Taliban forces in conflict areas. According to the “Clearing the Mines 2021” report, Afghanistan is among the three most landmines contaminated countries in the world.
In contrast to Afghanistan’s conventional mined areas, improvised mine contamination was mainly emplaced after 2017 and is located in the regions that experienced intense conflict, often close to inhabited areas. Before the August 2021 change of government, Taliban authorities only permitted survey and clearance of areas with no ongoing hostilities. This prevented an accurate determination of the full extent of the problem. Data available at the end of 2021 pointed to close to 44km2 of AIM contamination, mainly in the south.
Afghanistan has massive contamination by explosive remnants of war, including around 10km2
of cluster munition-contaminated area and a wide range of other unexploded ordnance (UXO), including 39 former firing ranges covering 681km2 to be cleared of UXO.
Norwegian People's Aid in Afghanistan
NPA has been involved in Afghanistan with a “Third Party Monitoring Programme” on behalf of The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA) since November 2017. This monitoring programme is based in Kabul and consist of six international staff and 12 National staff.
The PMWRA program specifically addresses, among other things:
- Increasing civilian security through the clearance of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and the return of land to productive use.
- Reducing the availability of weapons, including Man Portable Air Defence Weapons (MANPADS), landmines, other missiles and Explosive Ordnance.
- Devices destroyed by MAPA: AP- 755,469, AT- 32,994, AIM- 4,200, ERW-13,085,291 (since 1989).
- 30,514,972 beneficiaries have participated in Risk Education sessions (since 1989).
- 42,034 casualties (since 1989).
- 3,509 km2 of contaminated land cleared or released (since 1989).
- 119,453.2 km2 of remaining contaminated land.
- Mine Action Program for Afghanistan (MAPA) current main donors: UK, US, Germany, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, OCHA-CHF and Belgium.
- Afghanistan's country profile in the Land Mine & Cluster Munition Monitor
