DUSAHNBE, June 8, Asia-Plus -- In May, officers of the Tajik Mine Action Cell (TMAC) discovered and defused more than 50 antipersonnel landmines along Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan, the TMAC deputy head Parviz Mavlonqulov said. 

According to him, 20 landmines were discovered in the Panj district of Khatlon and more than 30 landmines were discovered in the Vanj district, Gorno Badakhshan.  

Mr. Mavlonqulov says that they have to date cleared more than 4,000 square meters of land in the areas bordering on Afghanistan.   “At present work is under way to clear landmines only in the area of the water-intake facility Halqayor in the Panj district,” said Mr. Mavlonqulov, “It is connected, first of all, with shortage of financing and professional deminers.” 

According to him, 36 servicemen serving for a fixed period are currently taking course at engineering battalion of the Ministry of Defense (MoD).  Besides, 12 demining dogs currently undergoing training in Afghanistan, which has a special demining center for dogs will set to demining operations in August this year.   

As it had been reported earlier, efforts to clear landmines some stretches of the Tajik-Afghan border were launched on April 11 this year.  

Tajikistan has the largest landmines problem in Central Asian.  Most of the mines in the country were laid during the civil conflict of 1992-1997, but landmines can also be found along Tajikistan’s borders with neighboring Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

Over the past two years, more than 190,000 square meters of land have been cleared of landmines and it remains to clear some other 25 million square meters of land of mines.  According to Mr. Mavlonqulov, international community has provided more than US$2 million this year for this.