Public Destruction of Stockpiles of Antipersonnel Mines
On November 24, 2004 at the Central Air Polygon of Hassi Bahbah Wilaya of Djelfa in the 1st Military Region, the President of the Republic, Supreme Chief of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense carried out the public and solemn launch of an operation to destroy 3030 antipersonnel mines.
It thus inaugurated a cycle of 12 operations aimed at the destruction of 150,050 mines representing the total stock of antipersonnel mines held by the National People's Army, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 4 of the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of the use, storage, reproduction and transfer of antipersonnel mines and on their destruction.
Less than a year later, a ceremony to complete these operations was held on the same site, allowing Algeria to fulfill its conventional obligations ahead of schedule.
150,050 anti-personnel mines will therefore be added to the 30,000,000 already neutralized throughout the world and make this neutralization a humanitarian work in line with the efforts already made by Algeria in the field of humanitarian demining following its independence.
It thus inaugurated a cycle of 12 operations aimed at the destruction of 150,050 mines representing the total stock of antipersonnel mines held by the National People's Army, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 4 of the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of the use, storage, reproduction and transfer of antipersonnel mines and on their destruction.
Less than a year later, a ceremony to complete these operations was held on the same site, allowing Algeria to fulfill its conventional obligations ahead of schedule.
150,050 anti-personnel mines will therefore be added to the 30,000,000 already neutralized throughout the world and make this neutralization a humanitarian work in line with the efforts already made by Algeria in the field of humanitarian demining following its independence.