Djibouti Declared 'Landmine Free'
VOA News
31 Jan 2004, 01:19 UTC
U.S. officials say the tiny Horn of Africa country of Djibouti is free from landmines through the help of the United States.
In a statement Friday, the State Department said Djibouti has become the first country in the region to be free from the hazardous impacts of landmines and unexploded ordnance.
It said Djibouti joins Costa Rica, El Salvador, Moldova and the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in changing its status from "mine-affected" to "mine-safe."
The State Department says for 13 years, parts of Djibouti were infested by persistent landmines and unexploded ordnance left from a three-year internal conflict from 1991 to 1994. It said the United States invested nearly $3 million to help make Djibouti landmine free.
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