Landmine Removal Program

Armine, a landmine victim. (Courtesy German Avagyan)

In 2003, COAF partnered with the US Humanitarian Mine Action Program, the Marshall Legacy Institute and Humpty Dumpty Institute, to combat landmines in Armenia. COAF raised $400,000 to fund a team of six mine detection dogs with a 3-to-1 dollar match by the United States Government and the International Trust Fund. The US State Department and the Armenian Humanitarian De-mining Center (AHDC) honored COAF for its contributions to landmine clearance efforts.

The US State Department estimates that there are more than 100,000 landmines in Armenia, affecting up to 2,500 square kilometers. More than 1,000 people have been killed or maimed by landmines since 1993. Mines remain the deadliest legacy of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict with Azerbaijan. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that at least 50,000 antipersonnel mines were laid during the war. Thousands of unexploded shells put 15,000 hectares—roughly 10 percent of arable land—at risk. Statistics show that one third of landmine victims are between the ages of 14- to 19-years-old—innocent children playing in the fields.