Israel”s cluster bomb maps useless, says head of Army demining center
The information provided by Israel concerning the locations of dropped cluster bombs during the summer 2006 war was useless, according to the head of the Lebanese Demining Center Brigadier Mohammad Fahmi. “What benefit can we get from such information after three years, and after witnessing 50 deaths and 350 injuries?” he asked on Friday during the launch of a new NGO, the Peace Generation Organization for Demining (PGOD).
The organization, funded by an Iranian foundation, was launched during a celebration held at the Jaber Cultural Center in the southern town of Nabatieh over the weekend.
The head of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, MP Yassin Jaber and representative of Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji attended the ceremony along with an array of prominent political figures.
Fahmi gave a speech during the gathering in which he described the severity of cluster bomb related injuries. “After the summer 2006 war Lebanon faced a problem beyond its capacities,” he said, referring to the millions of cluster bombs dropped by Israel on Lebanese soil.
“It’s true that Israel provided the Lebanese Army with information concerning the locations of dropped cluster bombs but what benefit can we get from such information after three years, and after 50 casualties and 350 injuries?” he asked.
According to the Lebanese National Demining Office 1,080 locations were contaminated with cluster bombs and only 562 of them have been cleared.
In May, the Israeli Army handed over to the United Nations data and maps on the cluster munitions it fired over southern Lebanon during the 34-day summer 2006 war.
The new NGO PGOD signed an official agreement with the National Demining Office to clear infested spots with the help of the Iranian company Ayman Sazan.
“Now that the organization has been founded, it is time to clear polluted fields to provide a safe and peaceful environment for everyone,” said the head of the NGO, Mahmoud Rahal. PGOD has already started working in two fields in the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Qabrikha.
Hizbullah has conducted its own efforts to clear Lebanese soil of Israeli cluster bombs and mines, according to Raad.
“If it weren’t for the efforts of the Lebanese Army and the Resistance, the number of casualties would have reached the thousands,” the MP added.
Raad said the Resistance had been able to clear 51,980 cluster bombs but that the primary role in such missions belonged to the Lebanese Army.
He added that many specialized companies were also responsible for demining Lebanon’s soil, four of which are currently still working.
The work of foreign demining companies, however, was recently threatened by a lack of funding and shortage in donations. The Mines Advisory Group (MAG), the largest international demining organization working in Lebanon, lost four of its demining teams this summer due to financial difficulties.
The number of cluster bombs victims has been increasing since the end of the war in 2006 and has now reached 350. On Wednesday two young siblings were wounded by a cluster bomb as they gathered firewood in the village of Toulin, close to the Israel border.
Many of the victims of unexploded cluster bombs are children under the age of 12.