Colombia is second in world for land mine victims, behind Afghanistan
A Colombian soldier searches for possible land mines left by the FARC, The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, after the group dynamited an energy tower owned by the state operated national energy distribution network, ISA, April 15, 2002 in Saravena, Colombia. The companys energy towers have been attacked repeatedly this year by the guerrilla group in a war against state-owned infrastructure leaving entire states without energy, sometimes for weeks. (Photo by Carlos Villalon/Getty Images)
Six children are the latest victims of Colombia’s ongoing land mine crisis, as a 3-year old was killed and five others wounded following an explosion in the central-western department of Tolima.
This recent incident has helped the Andean nation reach what Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzón called the “dishonorable figure” of 10,001 landmine victims, making it the second most affected country in the world in terms of land mine incidents after war-torn Afghanistan.
“Girls, boys, teens, women, indigenous, farmers, workers, soldiers, police and heroes of the country have sacrificed their lives for the freedom and security of the Colombians. We want a Colombia without more victims of anti-personnel mines and free of these artifacts,” Garzón said, according to Colombia’s Radio Caracol.
