Flooding South Lebanon - Human Rights Watch

conflict interrupted existing clearance efforts. In addition to the vast amount of new
explosive remnants of war, the conflict displaced existing minefields, which will have
to be re-surveyed and re-marked before clearance. “We were about to phase out….
Unfortunately now we are starting everything anew,” said Habbouba Aoun,
coordinator of the Landmines Resource Center. 251
Clearance in South Lebanon
Clearance began immediately after the ceasefire, with the Lebanese Army taking on a
large role in clearing visible submunitions. MACC SL and its contractors also quickly
responded to the problem. After just two weeks of operations, MACC SL reported that its
contractors had located and destroyed 2,171 submunition duds. This total did not
include submunitions cleared by the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL, Hezbollah, or ordinary
Lebanese civilians. 252 As of January 15, 2008, MACC SL contractors, the Lebanese armed
forces, and UNIFIL had cleared and destroyed about 140,000 submunition duds. 253
Despite the overwhelming contamination in the country, international support leaves
some hope that clearance will be completed in a timely manner. 254 From August to
October 2006, MACC SL focused on “clearance of essential infrastructure like houses,
schools, and roads.” Since then, it has turned its attention to “agriculture and
grazing lands, as well as communities where applicable.” 255
As of mid-December 2007, MACC SL reported that about 26.6 square kilometers of
contaminated area had been cleared. It did not give an estimation for finishing the
task, but reported that:
251 Human Rights Watch interview with Habbouba Aoun, coordinator, Landmine Resource Center, Beirut, October 20, 2006.
252 It consisted of 820 M77 MLRS submunitions, 715 M42 artillery submunitions, 631 M85 artillery submunitions, and five
BLU-63 aerial bomblets. As of September 13, the total had increased to 5,045 submunitions, including 2,121 M77 MLRS
submunitions, 2,066 M42 artillery submunitions, 691 M85 artillery submunitions, and 167 BLU-63 aerial bomblets. In addition,
Lebanese Armed Forces had cleared 8,626 submunitions and UNIFIL had cleared 3,269, for a combined total of 16,940.
253 Email communication from Dalya Farran, media and post clearance officer, MACC SL, to Human Rights Watch, January 16,
2008.
254 Human Rights Watch interview with Allan Poston, chief technical advisory, National Demining Office, UNDP, Beirut,
October 20, 2006.
255 Email communication from Julia Goehsing, program officer, MACC SL, to Human Rights Watch, May 14, 2007.
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Human Rights Watch February 2008