explosive devices continue to kill and maim civilians in Libya

In Sirte and Bani Walid, explosive remnants of war pose a serious threat to civilians, who are being warned of the dangers. According to a news release issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICRC's other immediate priorities are to ensure that mortal remains are identified and to obtain access to recently arrested people. Although fighting has ceased in most places, civilians continue to be injured or killed regularly by explosive devices. In Bani Walid, and particularly in Sirte, where the highest concentration of ordnance is to be found and the humanitarian impact is the most serious, the ICRC is launching urgent campaigns to educate people about the risks. 'There have already been several confirmed casualties in Sirte, including an eight-year-old girl who lost her arm while playing with an explosive device,' said Guy Marot, an ICRC expert. 'Our immediate goal is to ensure that further deaths and injuries among civilians are kept to an absolute minimum.' A high level of weapon contamination in farmlands and elsewhere in the area of Zlitan, west of Misrata, has caused approximately 30 casualties so far. ICRC staff are currently at work in Sirte putting up billboards, distributing leaflets and posters explaining the hazards of explosive ordnance, and mobilizing Libyan Red Crescent volunteers to spread the message to the population. The ICRC is to clear unexploded munitions in Sirte and Bani Walid, focusing on the contaminated areas that pose the greatest threat to civilians, especially some of the least destroyed neighbourhoods where people are attempting to return to their homes. Since March, the ICRC has removed the physical threat posed by almost 1,400 warheads, munitions, grenades and mortar shells in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Misrata, Brega, Ras Lanuf and the Nefusa mountains. It has also raised awareness in many communities of the danger of handling explosive items, and trained over 100 Libyan Red Crescent volunteers from seven local branches to take part in the effort to educate the public. Removing the threat of explosives in heavily contaminated areas will take considerable time and resources. It will also require coordination among numerous partners, such as the Libyan Red Crescent and other humanitarian organizations involved in mine action.