The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the DR Congo made a visit to Sake, in Masisi territory, North Kivu province, on 10 November 2014, to monitor the progress of bulk demolition of ammunition conducted by its operations partner MECHEM.

UNMAS Operation (OPS)/ Quality Assurance (QA) officer made an assessment and the Programme Officer activated detonation on site. A total of 80 kg of ammunition was destroyed that day and the operation was successful.

From 27 October, MECHEM started bulk demolition of unserviceable ammunition for the Indian and Uruguayan battalions (INBATT and URUBATT).

INBATT and URUBATT together make for almost 25% of the total troops and have significantly contributed to operations of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

Due to the particular environmental conditions in DRC, large quantities of ammunition suffer from degradation over time, therefore increasing the risk of unplanned explosive events.

In support of the forces’ efforts to manage the ammunition stocks safely, UNMAS tasked MECHEM to support INBATT and URUBATT in destroying 23 tons of obsolete ammunitions by 30 November.

Before starting the demolition, MECHEM used the local radio station to broadcast about the demolition to increase understanding and avoid confusion to communities.

In 2013, UNMAS supported North Kivu INBATT by demolishing 15tons of SAAs for Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) to avoid any impact of degraded ammunition.