Caldas. Approximately another 11,000 square meters of the rural area of Samaná, in the department Caldas, were cleared of antipersonnel mines, by soldiers of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Battalion No. 3.
The work carried out in El Congal, in which 6,700 square meters were cleaned, found eight antipersonnel mines in a timely manner. The effort of the mine clearance specialists in the same way complements the work carried out in the hamlet La Quiebra del Abejorro, where two explosive devices were found and more than four thousand square meters were decontaminated.
The humanitarian demining in that municipality in the east of the department of Caldas, where 93 victims have been reported, has led since 2010 to date, the clearance of approximately 630,000 square meters and the destructions of 420 antipersonnel mines and 13 munitions without explode.
During nine years of incessant work, the 172 hamlets of this municipality have been studied. Only five are still with suspicion of antipersonnel mines, and troops work currently on them.
"Today in El Congal there is only the bad memory of the situation of war that was experienced in previous years, now more families are returning to these lands, thanks to the operation carried out by the humanitarian demining. Once the municipality is cleared, we hope land restitution will be made for more than 50 families, reactivating the economy in these fertile lands of agriculture and livestock, here we plant beans, yucca, rice, coffee, pineapple, dark banana and cocoa, with the demining we have the real possibility of returning to our lands" said one resident.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Cardozo, commander of the Humanitarian Demining Battalion No. 3, said that the objective of his men is to give the entire municipality free of suspicion of mines and continue to contribute to a better future, he added: " This process is for you, we prepare ourselves for you to return to your lands, to come back to cultivate, to see your children grow, that is what satisfies us ".
For his part, Horacio Marín, resident of El Congal, said: "I am very grateful to the humanitarian demining because we can already be in this area calmly, without any concern and nothing to fear. I invite the villages and all the close neighbors to do this, it is clear to us that it is a good for all, the demining is a tranquility for the community ".
Source: Humanitarian Demining Brigade - National Army.
