Ceremony for the announcement of the liberation of the North Governorate from mines and remnants of war in Tula, Batroun District

Under the patronage of the Lebanese Army Commander in Chief General Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese Mine Action Center held a celebration at the Tula Public School - Batroun entitled “The North Governorate Free of Mine and Remnants of War” after the completion of the clean-up project in the mine-contaminated lands within the villages and towns of the governorate. The project was implemented in cooperation and coordination between the Army Engineering Regiment, the Lebanese Center for Mine Action, Humanity and Inclusion (HI), MAG, and DCA.

The ceremony was attended by the Governor of North Lebanon, Judge Ramzi Nohra, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Lebanon, Mr. Martin Ettervik, the representative of the United Nations Development Program in Lebanon, Ms. Celine Moyroud, and the Director of the Humanity and Inclusion (HI) organization in Lebanon, Ms. Nahid Al-Khallouf, in addition to representatives of embassies and international organizations, governors, mayors and a number of notable figures.

A briefing of the project was given, according to which about 6 million square meters of land were cleaned, including 56 northern villages and towns, over the span of three decades of work.

Speeches were given, highlighting the importance of the project and the efforts and sacrifices put into it during many years until its finalization. This showed the determination of its custodians and workers, aiming to restore to the northern lands their splendor and greenness, and to remove the threat of death away from its people, after many years of daily suffering.

For his part, the Lebanese Army Commander in Chief delivered a speech in which he declared the North Governorate free of mines, stating that “This is a glimmer of hope amid the bleak reality that the Lebanese live in, due to the deteriorating economic conditions that our country is going through”. He also pointed out that mines and unexploded ordnance turn into a hidden enemy, and the army took up the fight against it because its battle against mines is as important as its other responsibilities.

General Aoun stressed that the army has never faltered in the task of defending Lebanon, pointing out that despite the size of the tasks entrusted to it, the issue of mines remains a priority for him, describing “What we are witnessing today as a great achievement that we dedicate to our people in the north, enabling them to enjoy social stability, and re-invest their lands”. He hoped this will be a new initiative in their favor, and an opportunity that contributes to keeping them in their land. He pledged that “the battle against mines would continue until the last inch of our land was liberated from it, to get rid of this hidden enemy that lurks around us all”.