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OSCE Office in Tajikistan supports de-mining efforts

19 April 2012
L-r: Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan Major General Vyacheslav Grudyna, Ambassador of the United States to Tajikistan Kenneth E.Gross, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan Klaus Rasmussen, and U.S. Air Force Defense Attaché Lieutenant Colonel James McAndrew pose for a photo in front of a machine in the Engineering Battalion base, Dushanbe, 19 April 2012. (OSCE/Munira Shoinbekova) Photo details

DUSHANBE, 19 April 2012 - As part of a humanitarian de-mining project supported by the OSCE, a mechanical de-mining machine was handed over to the Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence today at a ceremony in the Engineering Battalion base in Rudaki District, close to Dushanbe.

The donation was financed by the United States Department of Defence as part of a joint mine clearance project of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence and the US embassy in Tajikistan.

The project, launched in 2009, focuses on training and equipping as well as supporting operations of the Ministry of Defence’s Unit in the Tajik-Afghan border area.

“The development of Tajikistan’s de-mining capacities is one of the success stories of OSCE engagement in the country,” said Klaus Rasmussen, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office.

“The clearance of minefields in the Tajik-Afghan border areas, conducted by Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry contributes to better border management and security as well as to overall stability in the region,” he added.  

Since 2009, the project has contributed to clearance of over 808,000 square metres of mine-contaminated lands along the Tajik-Afghan border. Over 759 anti-personnel mines and 50 pieces of unexploded ordnance were destroyed in the operations.