Danish Demining Group has introduced a new tool in the fight against mines in Afghanistan - the Minewolf - an armoured bulldozer guided by remote-control with the capacity to increase both safety and speed.
In the beginning of June Minewolf will be ready to start the hunt for mines in Afghanistan and push the speed of the general operation. A team of 18 deminers are capable of preparing or verifying an area of 10 - 20.000 m2 - a job Minewolf under the right circumstances manages in just 3 days.
At the same time Minewolf increases the safety by relieving the pressure on the manual teams.
"The Afghan mine-problem remains far from its solution but with the minewolf we can push the speed of the operation and make sure that less people are forced to live in fear of mines." Says Anette Christoffersen leader of the DDG
In spite of the difficult safety-situation in Afghanistan the DDG has 30 teams in Afghanistan, working with mine-clearing, unexploded ordnance and mine awareness campaigns.
All in all the DDG has cleared more than 1 million square-meters of Afghan soil. An effort worth while in a country where somewhere between 60 and 100 people most of these women and children are mutilated daily by landmines.
The Minewolf is financed by Royal Netherlands Government.