Country & Territory Reports - Landmine Action

Guinea
Background
Conflicts with armed non-state actors along Guinea’s
borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia are reported to have
contaminated these areas with ERW. 823 An explosion at an
ammunition depot in Conakry in 2001 also contaminated
the Simbaya district with ERW. 824
Assessment of the problem
Guinea is not considered mine-affected although it has not
submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report. While
there has been no significant conflict in Guinea itself,
because of its proximity to Sierra Leone and Liberia, it has
been affected by the internal conflicts in these countries
through the flow of refugees, arms and combatants across
it borders.
The towns of Guéckédou and Pamelap on the border with
Sierra Leone were destroyed by heavy shelling from
Guinean forces during combat with RUF fighters from
Sierra Leone who had sought refuge there in 2001. ERW
contamination resulted from this fighting. 825
An influx of former fighters from Liberia has recently
fuelled clashes between rival ethnic groups in the Forest
region near the border with Liberia. 826 Clashes in
Nzerekore and neighbouring areas have probably led to
some ERW contamination.
The district of Simbaya in the capital Conakry is affected by
ERW, which were scattered over a wide area by an
explosion in the ammunition depot of Alpha Yaya Diallo
Camp on 2 March 2001.
According to a representative of the Guinean armed forces,
stockpiles of AXO (abandoned ordnance) from the arsenal
of the PAIGC that were left on Guinean territory after
Portugal granted independence to Guinea and Cape Verde,
were destroyed with the assistance of the U.S. Army. 827
Impact
There are no reports of casualties from mines and ERW in
Guinea and information on the socio-economic impact of
ERW contamination is not available. However, as no full
assessment has taken place in Guinea, it is difficult to
measure the extent of any potential impacts.
Efforts to address these problems
As the government does not consider Guinea to be a
mine/ERW-affected country, it does not have a mine/ERW
risk education programme and there are currently no mine
clearance operations. 828
Legislation
guinea/guinea-bissau 77
Guinea has not signed the CCW but has been a State Party
to the Ottawa Convention since April 1999.
823 Landmine Monitor 2003, p. 275.
824 Landmine Action, Explosive Remnants of War: A Global Survey, London, 2003, p. 21.
825 Landmine Monitor 2001, pp. 77-78.
826 IRIN News, Ethnic tensions threaten to explode in southeast, Nzerekore, 7 Jul 2004
827 Interview with Lt.-Colonel Armand Favre, Director of armament and ammunition, Guinean Armed Forces, 14 May 2004, Conakry.
828 Interview with Lt.-Colonel Armand Favre, Director of armament and ammunition, Guinean Armed Forces, 14 and 15 May 2004.
Guinea-Bissau
Background
Guinea-Bissau’s war of independence from Portugal (1963-
1974) and, more significantly, an 11-month internal armed
conflict in 1998 and 1999 have led to persistent ERW and
mine contamination, including some MOTAPM contamination,
in Guinea-Bissau.
Assessment of the problem
ERW and mines resulting from the 1963-1974 war of
independence contaminate 22 sites in Guinea-Bissau. 829
However, the ERW/mine contamination that affects civilians
stems largely from the 11-month conflict between June 1998
and May 1999. Most of the fighting occurred in Bissau and in
four other sites in the east of the country. An estimated
20,000 ERW and mines contaminate the former front lines in
densely populated areas of Bissau. 830 According to the U.S.
Department of State, “unexploded ordnance, much of it
exposed to the weather and in a deteriorated condition, is
scattered throughout populated and agricultural areas.” 831
Seventeen mine-contaminated zones are thought to exist in
urban areas in Bissau where there is a constant flow of
traffic. 832 The ERW/mine contamination in the northern areas
bordering Senegal is a result of the ongoing conflict in
Casamance. 833 The government has noted that the south of
the country is contaminated with MOTAPM and ERW dating
from the war of independence. 834
erw and motapm – global survey 2003–2004