Scope of the mine problem

- Egypt is considered one of the most affected countries by mine / UXO , There are 22 million mines / UXO in Egypt, out of 102 million mines / UXO’ s laid in 65 countries . This is 21% of the total number of mines laid around the world .

- The great area of the land to be inspected and cleared, the tremendous problem is big because of the vast areas of infested land number of mines / UXO’ s. laid ,the hight sensitivity of mines due to their existence for almost 50 years underground , the lack of maps and sketces of mine field positions , and the disappearence of land marks are very sophisticated obstacles facing the clearing efforts .
- The existence of mines / UXO's in such a random manner in the Western Desert makes it very hard to know the exact number and types .

- Despite the great efforts spent by the Egyptian Government in mine / UXO clearance activities , still the mine / UXO problem impedes development projects in the Western Desert which was considered the main wheat farm in ancient Egypt .

There are about 19.7 million mines / UXO s in the Western Desert left-over as a result of Second World War combat operations. A total of “287” thousand hectares are infested . This covers the area from Alexandria to Salloum .