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Afghanistan: Angola: Nicaragua: Mozambique: Bosnia & Herzegovina: Combodia.
What effects it has on Society An Inisible Barrier in Development
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Afghanistan: Background Afghanistan has suffered an infestation of AP mines so extreme that it has been referred to as one large minefield. The United Nations has estimated that there are as many as 10 million AP mines in Afghan territory. The AP mine crisis has affected urban areas -- notably the capital, Kabul-- as well as rural ones. In rural areas, vast tracts of land were rendered useless by mine contamination. This led to shortages in the food supply. The state of prolonged conflict (since 1973) which prompted this severe crisis resulted from both internal political unrest and superpower rivalry during the Cold War. More recently, as fighting continued, significant numbers of AP mines were again used for strategic purposes -- notably in urban areas. The degree of AP mine infestation has impeded refugees from returning to Afghanistan and from resuming economic activity, especially in agricultural areas.
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