SUMMARY OF THIS MONTH'S ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS

- Visual search & clearance of 193,008 sq/m of land through hand, electronic, and visual techniques.

- Removal and destruction of 124 hazardous Remnants of Conflict [*] - 122 sub-munitions and 2 items of unexploded ordnance

BATTLE AREA CLEARANCE AND EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL

The continued focus of clearance for this month has moved towards clearance of agricultural and pastoral areas for the recovery of livelihoods.

The programme closed down for the winter break on 19th December 2007 and will re-start operations on 7th January 2008. Operations ceased on 14th December 2007 in order to prepare the sites for the winter close down.

MAG worked in the following areas and achieved the following outputs from 1s December to 14th December 2007:

- Area 6: 14 BAC teams continue to operate. They worked in 10 villages: Yohmor, Zawtar West, Al Qoseybeh, Aadchit, Al Jawharieh, Kfar Sir, Kfar Roumane, Sejoud, Mayfadoun, and Arnoun. These teams have used visual and electronic methods of clearance, clearing an area of 129,570 square metres. 106 Remnants of Conflict were found and destroyed.

- Area 7: 8 BAC teams operating in the villages of Maalieh, Al Hosh, Batoulay, and Al Smaieh. These teams have used visual and electronic methods of clearance, clearing an area of 63,438 square metres. 18 Remnants of Conflict were found and destroyed.

All teams are contributing to the social and economic recovery and development of South Lebanon through the safe, efficient, and effective clearance of Remnants of Conflict.

COMMUNITY LIAISON (CL)

All Contact Officers have continued to undertake community liaison activities at the pre-clearance, clearance, and post-clearance stages.

There were 120 activities during the month, including 37 data collection activities2, 3 liaison visits, 7 UXO tasking reports, and 73 other activities (e.g., mapping, hosting media visits, QA/QC) that support clearance work by providing control point locations and storage areas, securing land owner's approval for using their house/fields for clearance activities, liaison with local authorities, and emphasizing public safety messages to communities undergoing clearance.

EMERGENCY UXO CLEARANCE IN NAHR EL-BARED REFUGEE CAMP, TRIPOLI

MAG still has international technical staff and 4 Mine Action Teams available to undertake UXO clearance and/or provide technical support to UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies.

[* MAG uses the term Remnants of Conflict (RoC) to describe all items recovered and destroyed as part of its humanitarian disarmament activities, which include Anti-Personal and Anti-Vehicle mines, Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), abandoned and unexploded ordnance (UXO) and SA/LW. This term has been developed to reflect more accurately the broad range of clearance activities undertaken by MAG.]

For more information on MAG's work in Lebanon, or any of its programmes across the world, please visit www.magclearsmines.org or contact:

David Horrocks, Country Programme Manager, MAG Lebanon, PO Box 140, Villa Geara, Kfar Joz, Nabatieh 170002020, Lebanon; Tel/ Fax: +961 7530 727 Mobile: +961 70 994 567; Email: david.horrocks@maglebanon.com

Nicky Asfaw, Regional Desk Officer, MAG, 47 Newton Street, Manchester, M1 1FT, United Kingdom; Tel: +44 161 236 4311; Fax: +44 161 236 6244