This article discusses the problem represented by
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, the consequent suffering of its peoples, and how the countries in the region deal with this problem.
History
On 10 June 1940, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Italy declared war on Great Britain and France. This declaration included the Italian colonies and colonists already located in Africa. The Italians initially attacked Egypt, and the British, allied to the Egyptians by the
1936 treaty, counterattacked and occupied
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...
. The Italians asked for help from their German allies; as a result, the Germans entered the
North African theatre of war. The war continued with no decisive victory until the German-Italian forces were defeated at the
Second Battle of Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the ...
in late 1942. German-Italian forces withdrew from Egypt and
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
to
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
, and the Americans arrived in North Africa on 8 November 1942 during
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
to assist the British. American and British forces defeated their opponents on 12 May 1943, ending the North African campaign.
During the war, each side used land-mines to impede the enemy's progress. While it is unknown how many mines were used throughout North Africa, it is known from the memoirs of
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...
that some 80,000 mines were laid at the Buerat-Line in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
.
Many of the mines are still operational and pose a risk to local populations. The responsibility for removing them has been left to the governments of North African nations.
Egypt
One of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
's missions estimated there are 19.7 million mines in the western desert of Egypt. Great efforts have been made in extracting mines.
In a 1997 interview with Major-General Ibrahim Abdul-Fattah, chief of military engineers in the Egyptian armed forces. He stated that 8,301 Egyptian persons (civilian and military) were affected by land mines by 1997. Of them, 7,611 were wounded and 690 were killed.
In order to remove the mines, Italian and German old battlefield maps (the German records are more complete) are used in combination with satellite maps to pinpoint dangerous areas. The old maps are not enough because, according to the scientist Ayman Shabana, "many mines have moved due to floods, climate changes or the movement of sand dunes over half a century."
Libya
![Granate near Bir Hacheim (1990)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Granate_near_Bir_Hacheim_%281990%29.jpg)
The White Book, issued by the Libyan government in 1981, shows that for every year from 1939 (before the war) to 1975, Libyans were killed by the explosion of left-over military munitions (including mines), except for the years 1969–70. 1945 had the deadliest record of 130 people killed. Most mine fields are located in the coastal area, the most populated zone of the country.
Libya also has a bad heritage of land mines from the
Libyan-Egyptian war in 1977. During the
Libyan civil war
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
in 2011,
Muammar al Qadafi's regime laid land mines to check the advance of the rebel forces.
In the 1990s, about a dozen explosives removal teams worked in the former battle fields in Libya to defuse land mines and duds. Since the European countries were unwilling to assist with the removal of these explosives, the Libyan government was forced to cover the expenses for this dangerous work.
Tunisia
"On March 17
943
Year 943 ( CMXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – Allied with the Rus', a Hungarian army raids Moesia and Thrace. ...
General
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
captured
Gafsa
Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...
. On April 8 he joined up with the 8th Army, whilst on his left, the French XIX Corps moved towards the Eastern Dorsale. But neither of them were able to intercept the Italian army as it retreated north towards
Enfidaville
Enfidha (or Dar-el-Bey, ar, دار البي ') is a town in north-eastern Tunisia with a population of approximately 10,000. It is visited by tourists on their way to Takrouna. Enfidha is located at around . It lies on the railway between Tunis ...
via
Sfax
Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
and
Sousse
Sousse or Soussa ( ar, سوسة, ; Berber:''Susa'') is a city in Tunisia, capital of the Sousse Governorate. Located south of the capital Tunis, the city has 271,428 inhabitants (2014). Sousse is in the central-east of the country, on the Gulf ...
. This was because of the vast numbers of land-mines that Italian and German sappers laid, one of which killed Major-General Edouard Welvert, commanding the
"Constantine" Motorised Division, as they were entering
Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...
".
Today, the Tunisian Army is extracting between 200 and 300 mines every year.
Western Sahara
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
has constructed a 2,700 km (1,700 mi) long
berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...
(sand wall) cutting through the length of
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...
.
Minefields and watchtowers serve to separate the
Moroccan-controlled zone from the sparsely populated
Free Zone. Several thousand people have been killed or injured as a result of stepping on land mines, as have numerous Sahrawi livestock (goats and camels).
Diplomatic efforts
Although these three countries suffer from the same problem, they have never unified their diplomatic engagements with the formerly belligerent countries, Italy, Germany, and Great Britain. This weakened their positions in demanding the extraction of the mines, and compensation for war damages. Libya and Egypt work apart. Tunisia signed the
Ottawa Treaty
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...
in December 1997, calling for banning the use of mines in warfare.
[A. I. Mahmud, pp.140-141]
Notes
References
*Basil Henry Liddell-Hart (ed.)," The Rommel Papers", translated to
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
by Fathi Abdullah An Nimr, Maktabat al Anglo-Misriya,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
.
*Ahmed Ibrahim Mahmud, " Mushkilat al Algham fi Misr wa Ab'ad al Mushkila fil Alam: Khususiyat al Hala al Misriya", Markaz Al-Ahram lid Dirasat as Siyasiya wal Stratijiya,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, 2000.
*
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, The White Book, Markaz Al-Jihad Al-Libi, 1981.
*Peter Young (ed.), the History of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, vol.12, Orbis Publication, 1984
{{Land mines by region or country
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
North Africa