CAIRO: Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation has begun implementing the first phase of a project aimed at the modernization of demining devices along the country's northern coast. The effort comes as land mines in Egypt's Western Desert left over from the carnage of World War II continue to wreak havoc on the area. The Ministry of Social Solidarity, in coordination with the government effort, is allocating around 43 million Egyptian pounds for victims of land mine blasts and families of persons killed as a result of the remaining mines. An official told local newspapers that the ministry of cooperation has identified a set of suppliers to complete the upgrades for the equipment and expects the process to begin late this year or early 2010 at the latest. The ministry reported that it had purchased last year 250 Italian detection devices from “the best global models in this area,” adding that the payment of compensation to those affected by mines is a “an inherent responsibility of the ministry of solidarity.” The sands of the northwest coast are home to approximately 17.5 million landmines, while the number of landmines in the Sinai and the Eastern Desert, is roughly 5.5 million mines, Faiza Abul-Naga, Minister of International Cooperation said in a press statement. She also estimated the number of the victims of landmines in Egypt to be about 900 people, disabled and wounded. However, in Sinai, it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of landmines because the Israeli government is believed to have not revealed all the locations of the mines that were placed during the 1967 and 1973 wars. The Israeli Embassy in Cairo was unavailable for comment on Wednesday morning. Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moselhi confirmed in a press release that his ministry has allocated 43.2 million Egyptian pounds in aid for the victims of landmines. A source inside the ministry explained that the ministry would compensate those affected, either with artificial limbs “to restore their productivity and help them meet the needs of their families,” or via monetary compensation, “as well as enabling them to work and integrate into their community development programs.” **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
