Rabat, Morocco(TMT)- According to official figures released by the Moroccan authorities, the victims of landmines detonation in Morocco amount to 2536 for the period from 1975 to 2012.
From this number, 831 passed away after the detonation of the explosive devices, while the remaining 1705 survivors suffer permanent disabilities, with serious social, psychological and economic implications.
Landmines still constitute a huge danger for the life of humans and animals that live in the Sahara region, the part that witnessed a bloody battle a couple of years ago between Morocco and the Polisario front.
In the last years, many Moroccans were injured after the detonation of some of the explosive devices, designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or animal.
Animals are also suffering from those landmines as the region witnessed the death of a myriad of them, especially camels, and in some cases feral native species like Fenec foxes.
Landmines, as a matter of fact, are designed to be placed under or on the ground, and can lie dormant for years and even decades until a person or animal triggers their detonating mechanism.
The Moroccan Times.
