United States Welcomes Mozambique Announcement on Landmine Clearance

Land Mine Warning in Mozambique

Too many have been maimed and killed by landmines in Mozambique.  Why were they put there.  I am posting this as a Thank You for the efforts to clear  Mozambique of landmines!  My uncle was killed by a landmine when he was visiting Mozambique. Rest in peace Uncle Joseph. 

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United States Welcomes Mozambique Announcement on Landmine Clearance

Press Statement

John Kirby
Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 17, 2015

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The United States welcomes Mozambique’s announcement today that it has completed clearance of all known fields of landmines in the country.

Since 1993, when Mozambique emerged from decades of conflict as one of the world’s most landmine-affected nations, the United States has been proud to partner with the people of Mozambique, investing more than $55 million toward improving the safety and security of local communities though the U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction program.

Through that partnership -- which includes the international donor community and humanitarian demining organizations -- we have worked diligently to safely clear landmines and unexploded ordnance, prevent injuries through community outreach and education, and provide medical and social services to survivors of accidents involving these legacies of past conflicts.

The United States is proud to be the world’s leading provider of financial and technical assistance to help countries address this serious humanitarian challenge. Since 1993, we have invested nearly $2.5 billion in aid in more than 90 countries to decrease the threats posed by landmines and explosive remnants of war. Our efforts have dramatically reduced the world’s annual landmine casualty rate and helped 16 countries declare themselves landmine-free.

Humanitarian demining in places like Mozambique sets the stage for post-conflict recovery and development. It is another important way in which the United States promotes international peace and security.

Waarabu Kutoka Saudia Wakamatwa Kuhusiana na Mlipuko wa Bomu Kanisani Arusha!

Waarabu wanne kutoka Saudi Arabia na WaTanzania wanne wamekamatwa na kushikiliwa na polisi kwa tuhuma za kuhusika na mlipuko wa bomu katika kanisa katoliki mjini Arusha jumapili. Watu wawili wamepoteza maisha yao na watu 60 kuumia.  Balozi wa Vatican nchini Tanzania, alikuwepo katika hapo kanisani, lakini hakuumia.

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Kutoka Reuters:

.DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania has arrested four men from Saudi Arabia and four Tanzanians in connection with the bombing of church on Sunday that killed two people, an attack that has heightened sectarian tensions in the east African nation.


Investigators said they were still determining the type of device used in the attack on the Catholic church in Arusha, a town in the north of the nation of about 45 million people that is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

A statement from President Jakaya Kikwete's office on Monday said two people had now died from the blast after the death toll had previously been put at one. Sixty people were injured.

The Vatican's ambassador to Tanzania, Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, was attending the official opening of the church when the explosion occurred. He escaped unharmed.

"So far eight people have been arrested, including four nationals from Saudi Arabia and four Tanzanians," Arusha Regional Commissioner Magesa Mulongo told Reuters by telephone.

He said the Saudis, aged between 30 and 45, had arrived at an airport near Arusha on Saturday and were detained late on Sunday trying to cross the border to neighboring Kenya. Mulongo said they were being questioned regarding the incident.

Arusha lies near the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in a part of Tanzania that is predominantly Christian.

Highlighting tensions between the religious communities, two Christian leaders were killed in Tanzania's semi-autonomous, predominantly Muslim islands of Zanzibar earlier this year and there have been attacks on Muslim leaders and mosques.

"We are trying to establish if it was a home-made explosive device or a specialized bomb," Tanzania's director of criminal investigation, Robert Manumba, told Reuters.

The president's office said Kikwete had cut short his state visit to Kuwait following the bomb attack on the church.

(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)