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Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
Casualties Overview
|
All known casualties by end 2013 |
38 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (8 killed; 26 injured; 4 unknown) |
|
Casualties in 2013 |
28 (2012: 0) |
|
2013 casualties by outcome |
5 killed; 23 injured (2012: 0) |
|
2013 casualties by device type |
20 unspecified mine; 8 victim-activated IED |
In 2013, the Monitor identified 28 casualties from landmines and victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the Republic of Tunisia.[1] This is the highest annual casualty total recorded in Tunisia since monitoring began in 1999. The vast majority of casualties in 2013 were military (22 of 28); there were six civilian casualties of which five were women. All incidents occurred in or near the area of military operations at Al-Cha’ambi Mountain in Kasserine governorate.[2]
The 2013 casualty total of 28 represented a dramatic increase compared to the 10 mine/ERW casualties recorded in Tunisia for a period of more than 20 years, from 1991–2012. This increase was attributed, at least in part, to the suspected use of homemade mines, something that had not been reported in Tunisia prior to 2013.[3]
In 2006, a man was injured by ERW in northern Tunisia. The last reported mine incident occurred in January 2002.[4] In its Article 7 report and its statement to the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies in June 2008, Tunisia stated that the rare incidents reported in recent years were due to ERW.[5]
The Monitor identified a Tunisian officer injured during a training accident with a hand grenade in Djibouti in January 2008; a French officer was killed in the same incident.[6]
The cumulative number of mine/ERW casualties remains unknown. Since 1991, the Monitor has recorded 38 mine/ERW casualties.
[1] Monitor media analysis for 2013 (from 1 January to 31 December).
[2] Casualties among animals were also recorded in the same area. “A landmine exploded without any injuries in the announced military area of Al-Cha’amby Mountain. It mostly exploded because of an animal who activated it,” Arrakmia, 20 June 2013, accessed 16 January 2014; “Kasserine: explosion d'une mine dans la région de Brika. La mine a explosé au moment du passage d’un troupeau de moutons, cette explosion n’a pas fait de victimes humaines(…),” Tunisie 14, 19 November 2013.
[3] “Tunisian ministry of defense clears the secret of landmines in Al-Cha’amby Mountain.” The Minister of Interior stated that “the mines used in in Al-Cha’amby Mountain were hand made from plastic, Glycerin and contained an injection that explodes more than one time which made it very difficult to detect. It’s similar to the type used in Afghanistan where the American forces faced huge difficulties to deal with.” Lotfy ben Gedo: “Types of mines in Al-Cha’amby were used in Afghanistan where America faced difficulties to deal with,” Alarabiya, 3 May 2013.
[4] See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 683.
[5] Article 7 Report (for the period April 2007 to April 2008), Form J; and statement of Tunisia, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 5 June 2008.
[6] “Djibouti, l’officier de l’EAI de Montpellier tué, victime de l’explosion d’une grenade” (“Djibouti, EAI officer from Montpellier killed, victim of a grenade explosion”), MidiLibre, 14 January 2008.
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