INSEC Surveillance System on Explosive Device Incidents. Report on Casualties of Victim-Activated Explosions In Nepal. January to June 2011

Transcription

1 INSEC Surveillance System on Explosive Device Incidents Report on Casualties of Victim-Activated Explosions In Nepal January to June 2011 Prepared by Prashannata Wasti Srijana Nepal

2 Table of Contents January-June 2011 Page No. Summary 4 1. Introduction 4 2. Methodology INSEC Surveillance Methodology Case Definitions Typology Active Surveillance Overview Coverage Range of Information Limitation 8 3. Number of Incidents and Casualties Incidents and Casualties by month Trends of Casualties and Incidents 9 4. Location of Victim-activated Explosions Incidents and casualties by location Incidents and casualties by setting Casualties before and after the signing of CPA Circumstances of Victim-activated Explosions 5.1. Type of Explosive Device causing Incidents Cause of Incidents Activation of the Device 20 2

3 5.4 Death Rate Description of Injuries Profile of the Civilian and Casualties 6.1 Age and Sex of Civilian Casualties Occupation Economic status of Casualties Prior Knowledge of the Risks 24 3

4 SUMMARY This semi annual report has been prepared on the basis of information gathered through INSEC s Surveillance System. It records the effects of VAE in Nepal from January June During the reporting period, the Surveillance System identified 21 new casualties from a total of 15 incidents caused by improvised explosive devices (IED), mines and other explosive devices (ED). Out of these 21 casualties, 7 were killed and 14 were injured. Last year in the same period, there was a total of 25 people were affected, all injured, in 13 incidents. Three regions had incidents of victim-activated explosions, with the highest number of incidents (10) in Mid- Western Regional office and highest number of casualties (15) occurring in the same region. Out of the 11 districts affected by victim-activated explosions, Rolpa district of the Mid-Western region had the highest number of casualties (4) with 3 incident. The highest number of incidents and casualties occurred in April resulting 3 incidents and 6 casualties while in Janaury the number of incidents was 3 and casualties 5. The highest number of incident (20%, 3) for victim-activated explosions occurred in the fields for cultivation and at home. Children accounted for 52 percent (11) of the total number of ED casualties whereas adult accounts for 48 per cent (10) of the total number of casualties years age group was the most affected age group with 7 casualties. Male casualty was 67% (14) and female casualty was 33% (7). Most of the casualties belonged to either the lowest or low economic category. This indicates that the majority of the casualties will most likely be unable to afford medical treatment, or even in some cases evacuation to the closest medical facility. They may also face financial difficulty in any follow-up treatment required. 95%(20) casualties were not aware that the area where the explosion occurred was dangerous. Similar number of casualties did not know that their activity at the time of the incident was dangerous. All 13 incidents occurred in places where there were no danger signs posted. 1. INTRODUCTION This report is the 19 th of its kind, from the Surveillance System on Explosive Device (ED) incidents in Nepal, a system introduced by Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) in June It covers the period from January-June 2011, and is part of an ongoing collaborative project, to improve Mine/IED/UXO Risk Education (MRE), Victim Assistance (VA) and Advocacy, and to inform future Mine Clearance and Explosive Ordinance Disposal missions. This report provides an overview of the impact of VAE, namely Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), including Unexploded/Abandoned Ordnance (UXO/AO) and Antipersonnel Mines on the population of Nepal. Its 4

5 publication aims to highlight the extent of the threat that EDs continue to pose to Nepali citizens. Through such a reporting process, INSEC hopes that this issue will continue to be addressed in the most comprehensive and immediate manner possible, by all the relevant stakeholders. The Active Surveillance System on which this report is based details casualties of victim-activated explosions only. It does not feature information on intentional explosions (attack, demolition, and crime), explosions without casualties, or combatant casualties. The objective of INSEC s Surveillance System is three-fold. It intends to: Collect information about civilian casualties of victim-activated explosions in all the Districts of Nepal Create links between casualties and Victim Assistance agencies Disseminate reliable information on the incidents to Mine Actiotn stakeholders in order to improve Victim Assistance and Mine Risk Education and prioritize demining and IED Disposal activities INSEC s active surveillance system results in the collection of reliable and comprehensive data, which is vital for efficient and systematic mine action activities and programs. These mine action activities are essential to prevent future mine-related incidents and also to alleviate the damage caused by explosive devices. This comprehensive system in place ensures widespread dissemination of detailed and accurate information on victims of IEDs to all organizations, who work directly or indirectly with mine action activities. Such information is imperative for the efficient implementation of Mine Risk Education, Victim Assistance, Advocacy and Mine Clearance Programs to alleviate the dangers posed by EDs. The information from January to June 2011 is based on as a preliminary source and INSEC Active Surveillance System. 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 INSEC Surveillance Methodology Surveillance, in the public health approach, is the ongoing and systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health-related data essential to planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. Surveillance may be active or passive, depending on the needs and resources. In active surveillance, injury cases are sought out and investigated; injured persons are interviewed and followed up. It usually requires large expenditures of human and financial resources. In passive surveillance, relevant information is collected in the course of doing other routine tasks. That is to say, the generation of data is not necessarily the primary 5

6 function of the system that yields the data. The report presents results on active surveillance conducted in all 75 districts of Nepal. 2.2 Case Definition A casualty of victim-activated explosion is described by the following sets of inclusive and exclusive criteria: Inclusive criteria People injured or killed when they activated an Explosive Device (ED) unknowingly, or without the intention to harm, hurt or terrorize. These EDs are: Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) including booby-trap Anti-personnel Mines Other ED Casualties who were close to an ED activated by an animal or by natural causes (lightning, heat, landslide) Casualties who were close to those who activated the ED (bystanders) People bystanders affected by explosions due to ED manufacturing, transport or storage People who were forced by the Security Forces - or the non-state actors - to defuse or remove ED Exclusive criteria Victims of command-detonated explosions (attack, demolition of infrastructure) including bombs activated by timer Victims of hurled socket bombs, artillery bombardment, aerial bombing, rocket attacks or any other sort of direct launched devices Persons who fell victim to direct or stray bullets Victims with minor physical injuries (not needing medical treatment) Any other persons not meeting the inclusive criteria as set out above 2.3 Typology of Explosive Devices Mine: Ammunition designed to be placed under, on or near the ground or other surface area and to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person or a vehicle Anti-personnel mine (AP Mine): A mine designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons Improvised Explosive Device (IED): a home-made explosive device usually manually placed/used and designed to injure, kill or terrorize. This definition includes boobytraps using explosive. This category includes Unexploded, abandoned and stored IEDs as well. 6

7 January-June 2011 Booby-trap: An explosive or non-explosive device, or other material, deliberately placed to cause casualties when an apparently harmless object is disturbed or a normally safe act is performed Other Explosive Devices (ED): In this specific context, are limited to factory-made explosive munitions (including command-detonated mines) which are either Unexploded or Abandoned. Unexploded Ordnance (UXO): Explosive ordnance that has been primed, fused, armed or otherwise prepared for use or used. It may have been fired, dropped, launched or projected yet remains unexploded either through malfunction or design or for any other reasons Abandoned Ordnance (AO): An explosive ordnance that has not been used during an armed conflict, that has been left behind or dumped by a party to an armed conflict, and which is no longer under control of the party that left it behind or dumped it. Abandoned explosive ordnance may or may not have been primed, fused, armed or otherwise prepared for use. Explosive Remnants of War (ERW): Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and Abandoned Explosive Ordnance (AO) from the conflict time. 2.4 Active Surveillance Overview The information presented in this report is based on Mine Action surveillance System on civilian casualties of victim-activated explosions initiated by INSEC on June INSEC district representatives were trained in data collection on incidents, identification of explosive devices, interview techniques, safe behavior and referral of survivors. Whenever an explosion affecting civilians occurs, INSEC is notified by one of its informers or partner organizations and sends one of its district representatives to investigate. Incident data collected at the district level, usually from the survivor, relatives or witnesses of the incident, is sent to INSEC Regional and Central Offices using a specific form, and then transferred to the MAJWG whenever needed. Data is checked for consistency at the central level, and then entered into an Excel worksheet. Information is analyzed in Excel and summarized in a periodic report, which is disseminated through the MAJWG. INSEC reports can also be downloaded from INSEC Website in English Coverage As INSEC has district representatives in each of the 75 districts of Nepal, the active surveillance System covers the whole country. Each of the five regional offices of INSEC acts as an intermediary between the district representatives and INSEC Central Office in Kathmandu. The Regional Offices notify the district representatives, ensure the follow up in data collection and assist the transfer of data to the central level. 7

8 2.4.3 Range of Information A wide range of information is collected by INSEC district representatives from the survivors, sources close to them or witnesses of the incident. Data collected can be grouped into the following main categories: - date of incident - location of incident - type of explosive device causing the incident - circumstance of the incident - profile of the casualty - description of injuries or details of death - Socio-economic status of victim Limitations There is a risk of under-reporting especially if an incident occurs in a remote area, unnoticed by media or INSEC s extended network of partner organizations. Sometimes even the family members choose to hide the incident because of fear of many things including the police. In light of this, the figures presented in this report are therefore taken to be the minimal figures, comprising all the confirmed cases. 3.NUMBER OF INCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES From January to June 2011, INSEC surveillance system identified 21 new casualties from 15 incidents caused by improvised explosive devices. Out of these 15 incidents, 14 people were injured and 7 people killed. As demonstrated in figure 1, IED/UXO/Mine casualty numbers have continued to decrease since Year Incidents Casualties Note : Year 201 covers data for six months only ( January-June 2011) Figure 1: Incidents and Casualties by Year (January to June 2011) 8

9 3.1 INCIDENT AND CASUALTIES BY MONTHS January-June 2011 Incidents of explosions occurred in January, February, April, May and June during this period. There has been an average of 2.5 incidents and 3.5 casualties per month during these six months. The highest number of incidents occurred in January and May with 4 each while the highest number of casualties was 6 in April resulting from 3 incidents. In one of the incident that took place in Dolpa in the month of April, 2 persons were killed and 1 injured January February March April May June Casualties Incidents Figure 2: Incidents and Casualties by Month (January to June 2011) 3.2 TRENDS OF CASUALTIES AND INCIDENTS Figure 3 shows the trends of casualties from January 2010 to June As seen in the figure, the highest number of casualties occurred in the month of April In this reporting period (Jan- Jun 2011) too, the highest number of casualties occurred in the month of April with 6 casualties in 3 incidents. Figure 3: Trend of Casualties from January 2010 to June 2011 In this reporting period (Jan-Jun 2011), the highest number of incidents occurred in the months of January and May. Figure 4: Trend of incidents from January 2010 to June

10 4. LOCATION OF VICTIM-ACTIVATED EXPLOSIONS Incident by district Total 15 Incidents ( January-June, 2011) No. of Incidents Incidents 14 INDIA HUMLA 3-4 Incidents 1 DARCHULA BAITADI BAJHANG BAJURA MUGU Above 4 Incidents 0 DADEL- DHURA KANCHAN- PUR DOTI ACHHAM KALIKOT DAILEKH KAILALI SURKHET BARDIYA BANKE JUMLA JAJARKOT SALYAN DANG RUKUM ROLPA DOLPA PYUTHAN BAGLUNG MYAGDI GULMI MUSTANG PARBAT KASKI SYANGJA TANAHU ARGHAKHACHI PALPA KAPILBASTU RUPANDEHI NAWALPARASI INDIA MANANG LAMJUNG CHINA GORKHA DHADING NUWAKOT CHITWAN MAKAWANPUR LALIT KAVRE PUR PARSA BARA RASUWA KATHMANDU SINDHU- PALCHOK BHAKTAPUR RAMECHHAP OKHAL- DHUNGA SINDHULI DOLAKHA RAUTA- HAT SARLAHI MAHO- DHANUSA TARI SIRAHA SOLUK- HUMBU KHOTANG UDAYAPUR SANKHUWA- SABA BHOJ- PUR DHANKUTA SAPTARI SUNSARI TERHA- THUM TAPLEJUNG PANCH- THAR ILAM MORANG JHAPA INDIA Figure 5: Map of incidents by district (January-June 2011) 10

11 Casualties by district Total 21 Casualties ( January-June,2011) No. of Casualties Casualties 7 INDIA HUMLA 3-4 Casualties 3 DARCHULA BAITADI BAJHANG BAJURA MUGU Above 4 Casualties 1 DADEL- DHURA KANCHAN- PUR DOTI ACHHAM KALIKOT DAILEKH KAILALI SURKHET BARDIYA BANKE JUMLA JAJARKOT SALYAN DANG RUKUM ROLPA DOLPA PYUTHAN BAGLUNG MYAGDI GULMI MUSTANG PARBAT KASKI SYANGJA TANAHU ARGHAKHACHI PALPA KAPILBASTU RUPANDEHI NAWALPARASI INDIA MANANG LAMJUNG CHINA GORKHA DHADING NUWAKOT CHITWAN MAKAWANPUR LALIT KAVRE PUR PARSA BARA RASUWA SINDHU- PALCHOK KATHMANDU BHAKTAPUR RAMECHHAP OKHAL- DHUNGA SINDHULI DOLAKHA RAUTA- HAT SARLAHI MAHO- DHANUSA TARI SIRAHA SOLUK- HUMBU KHOTANG UDAYAPUR SANKHUWA- SABA BHOJ- PUR DHANKUTA SAPTARI SUNSARI TERHA- THUM TAPLEJUNG PANCH- THAR ILAM MORANG JHAPA INDIA Figure 6: Map of casualties by district (January-June 2011) 4.1 Incidents And Casualties By Location Between January 1 and June 30, 2011, a total of 15 incidents and 21 casualties were identified through INSEC s Surveillance System. Three regions had incidents of victimactivated explosions, with the highest number of incidents (10) and casualties (15) recorded in the Mid-Western Regional Office. Out of the 11 districts affected by victimactivated explosions, Rolpa had the highest number of casualties (4) followed by Humla, Dolpa, and Kalikot districts of the Mid-western region. Among these districts, in Rolpa 11

12 Districts January-June 2011 there were 3 incidents, in Humla and Kalikot, there were 2 incidents each and Dolpa had 1 incident resulting in two dead and one injured casualties. REGION DISTRICT INCIDENTS CASUALTIES Eastern Morang 1 1 Eastern Total 1 1 Mohattari 1 1 Central Parsa 1 2 Bara 1 1 Dhanusa 1 1 Central Total 4 5 Western NONE Western Total 0 0 Salyan 1 1 Mid-Western Humla 2 3 Dolpa 1 3 Banke 1 1 Rolpa 3 4 Kalikot 2 3 Mid-Western Total Total Parsa district in the Central region had the second highest number of casualties (2). These casualties were a result of 1 incident. From the table we can see that the 13 incidents took place in two main regions of the country; that is, the Central and the Mid-Western region. This incidates that incidents related to VAE are widely spread. This also means that loacation of incidents in Nepal is very hard to predict. Table 1: Incidents and Casualties by Region and District (January June 2011) Bara Banke Morang Kalikot Rolpa Dolpa Humla Salyan Dhanusa Parsa Mahottari No. of casualties Figure 7-: Casualties by District (January-June 2011) 12

13 Tarai Districts Casualties Incidents Mahottari 1 1 Parsa 2 1 Bara 1 1 Morang 1 1 Banke 1 1 Dhanusa 1 1 TOTAL 7 6 Other Districts Casualties Incidents Salyan 1 1 Humla 3 2 Dolpa 3 1 Rolpa 4 3 Kalikot 3 2 Total 14 9 Within these six months, number of affected Tarai and Hilly districts were almost same with 6 and respectively. As can be seen by Table 2, the top two affected district was in Rolpa with 3 incidents and 4 casualties followed by Humla and Kalikot with 2 incidents. These districts are Hilly ones and the reason for such data can be linked to past conflict when these distircts were comparatively more affected than the Tarai districts. Table 2: Casualties and Incidents in Tarai Districts as Compared to Other Districts (January -June 2011) Casualties and Incidents by Municipalities/VDCs Districts VDC/Municipality Casualties Bara Bhulhibharwaliya VDC 1 Banke Nepalgunj 1 Dhanusa Lakkad VDC 1 Dolpa Dunai VDC 3 Humla Sarkideu VDC 1 Thehe VDC 2 Kalikot Malkot VDC 1 Phoimahadev VDC 2 Mohattari Ramnagar VDC 1 Morang Indrapur VDC 1 Parsa Birgunj SMP 2 Rolpa Badachaur VDC 1 Liwang VDC 1 Bhawang VDC 2 Salyan Dhanbang VDC 1 Total 21 During the reporting period, a total of 15 VDCs or municipalities were affected, with single incident each. However, Dunai of Dolpa had three casualties and Thehe of Humla, Phoimahadev of Kalikot, Birgunj Sub-metropolis of Parsa, and Bhawang of Rolpa had two casualties each. During January-June 2011, the period which this report focuses on, Dolpa had 3 casualties- one injured and two dead, in Dunai VDC. Table 3: VDC/Muncipalitity with number of casualties (January 2011-June 2011) Table 4 below shows the VDCs/Municipalities affected by victim-activated explosions, ranked from those most affected to those least affected. This covers the period from January 2007 to June The highest number of casualties occurred in a single incident in 2007 which resulted in 32 casualties. This occurred in Korobari VDC of Jhapa district. A 13

14 team of policemen who were removing explosive devices left behind by a group, and some curious locals who had gathered, were all injured in the incident. S.No VDC/Municipality Casualties Incidents District Region 1 Korobari 32 1 Jhapa Eastern 2 Malakheti 11 1 Kailali Far-Western 3 Gothadi 9 1 Palpa Western 4 Biratnagar 8 4 Morang Eastern 5 Sugarkhal 6 2 Kailali Far-Western 6 Bahundanda 6 2 Lamjung Western 7 Bhandara 6 1 Chitwan Central 8 Paklihawa 6 1 Nawalparasi Western 9 Sakhuwa Dhamaura 6 1 Rautahat Central 10 Ramgunj Belgachhiya 6 1 Sunsari Eastern 11 Kalaiya Municipality 6 3 Bara Central 12 Nepalgunj Municipality 5 2 Banke Mid-Western 13 Lipini Birta 5 1 Parsa Central 14 Jogbudha 5 1 Dadeldhura Far-Western 15 Malangawa Municipality 5 1 Sarlahi Central 16 Bardibas 4 1 Mahottari Central 17 Khairawa 4 1 Sarlahi Central 18 Manma 4 1 Kalikot Mid-Western 19 Dhorahi 4 1 Dang Mid-Western 20 Arnama Pra Pi 3 2 Siraha Eastern 21 Bhajang 3 2 Kailali Far-Western 22 Khumel 3 2 Rolpa Mid-Western 23 Balara 3 1 Sarlahi Central 24 Birjung SMP 3 2 Parsa Central 25 Basuling 3 1 Baitadi Far-Western 26 Bidur Municipality 3 1 Nuwakot Central 27 Kafalseri 3 1 Bajhang Far-Western 28 Netragunj 3 1 Sarlahi Central 29 Sadepani 3 1 Kailali Far-Western 30 Salempur 3 1 Sarlahi Central 31 Sisahaniya 3 1 Bara Central 32 Sitapur Bhangaha 3 1 Mahottari Central 33 Sonpur 3 1 Dang Mid-Western 14

15 34 Dunai 3 1 Dolpa Mid-Western 35 Goithi 3 1 Saptari Eastern Region 36 Lothar 2 2 Chitwan Central 37 Uchidi 2 1 Bara Central 38 Phaktep 2 2 Panchthar Eastern 39 Suntale 2 2 Khotang Eastern 40 Phoimahadev 2 1 Kalikot Mid-Western 41 Bahuarwa Bhatha 2 1 Parsa Central 42 Bhingri 2 1 Pyuthan Mid-Western 43 Darling 2 1 Gulmi Western 44 Garkhakot 2 1 Jajarkot Mid-Western 45 Jukena 2 1 Arghakhanchi Western 46 Homa 2 1 Rolpa Mid-Western 47 Kalika 2 1 Humla Mid-Western 48 Khutapiparadi 2 1 Mahottari Central 49 Lagadigdiyani 2 1 Siraha Eastern 50 Lampantar 2 1 Sindhuli Central 51 Manraja 2 1 Saptari Eastern 52 Manthali 2 1 Ramechhap Central 53 Phaparbari 2 1 Makwanpur Central 54 Raghunathpur 2 1 Mahottari Central 55 Thehe 2 1 Humla Mid-Western 56 Sakh 2 1 Rukum Mid-Western 57 Bhawang 2 1 Rolpa Mid-Western 58 Ranighat 2 1 Parsa Central 59 Siddhakali 2 1 Sankhuwasabha Eastern 60 Siswani Jahada 2 1 Morang Eastern 61 Madar 2 1 Siraha Eastern 62 Bhardaha 2 1 Saptari Eastern 63 Ajgaibi 2 1 Rautahat Central 64 Darlamchaur 2 1 Gulmi Western 65 Babiyabirta 1 1 Morang Eastern 66 Badabhairav 1 1 Dailekh Mid-Western 67 Badalkot 1 1 Kalikot Mid-Western 68 Malkot 1 1 Kalikot Mid-Western 69 Bangesal 1 1 Pyuthan Mid-Western 70 Barchhen 1 1 Doti Far-Western 71 Bastipur 1 1 Siraha Eastern 15

16 January-June Bhatauda 1 1 Bara Central 73 Lakkad 1 1 Dhanusa Central 74 Bichhya 1 1 Bajura Far-Western 75 Chaulahi 1 1 Dang Mid-Western 76 Dhadhabar 1 1 Bardiya Mid-Western 77 Dhangadhi Municipality 1 1 Kailali Far-Western 78 Gadaiya Dumariya 1 1 Sarlahi Central 79 Godar 1 1 Dhanusha Central 80 Hattilet 1 1 Mahottari Central 81 Inaruwa Municipality 1 1 Sunsari Eastern 82 Jitpur 1 1 Bara Central 83 Bhulhibharwaliya 1 1 Bara Central 84 Kabilas 1 1 Chitwan Central 85 Kamdi 1 1 Banke Mid-Western 86 Khairang 1 1 Bhojpur Eastern 87 Khalanga 1 1 Pyuthan Mid-Western 88 Khanar 1 1 Sunsari Eastern 89 Kharigaira 1 1 Dailekh Mid-Western 90 Kotwada 1 1 Kalikot Mid-Western 91 Lichki Ramche 1 1 Khotang Eastern 92 Masuriya 1 1 Kailali Far-Western 93 Narayanpur 1 1 Dang Mid-Western 94 Narayankhola 1 1 Sarlahi Central 95 Padsari 1 1 Rupandehi Mid-Western 96 Pandaun 1 1 Kailali Western 97 Parewadin 1 1 Dhankuta Eastern 98 Rajbiraj Municipality 1 1 Saptari Eastern 99 Ranigaun 1 1 Panchthar Eastern 100 Room 1 1 Dailekh Mid-Western 101 Sakhi 1 1 Rolpa Mid-Western 102 Badachaur 1 1 Rolpa Mid-Western 103 Liwang 1 1 Rolpa Mid-Western 104 Hanku 1 1 Jumla Mid-Western 105 Sattala 1 1 Dailekh Mid-Western 106 Seri 1 1 Mugu Mid-Western 107 Raya 1 1 Humla Mid-Western 108 Sarkideu 1 1 Humla Mid-Western 109 Maspal 1 1 Dolpa Mid-Western 110 Kanchanpur 1 1 Banke Mid-Western 111 Piprahawa 1 1 Banke Mid-Western 16

17 112 Purundhara 1 1 Dang Mid-Western 113 Dhanbang 1 1 Salyan Mid-Western 114 Srikot 1 1 Baitadi Far-Western 115 Tandi 1 1 Sindhuli Central 116 Umaprempur 1 1 Dhanusa Central 117 Dhiyal 1 1 Makawanpur Central 118 Ramnagar 1 1 Mahottari Central 119 Adarshanagar 1 1 Parsa Central 120 Pandavkhani 1 1 Baglung Western 121 Papley 1 1 Myagdi Western 122 Takam 1 1 Myagdi Western Total Table 4: VDC/Muncipalitity with number of casualties (January 2007-June 2011) Biratnagar Sub-metropolis had the highest number of incidents (4), one of which occurred in November 2007, while the other 3 occurred between April and October All 4 incidents occurred at different wards. Kalaiya Municipality had 3 incidents, while Nepalgunj Municipality, Arnama Pra Pri VDC, Bajhang VDC, Khumel VDC, Birgunj Submetropolis, Lothar VDC, Phaktep VDC and Suntale VDC were each affected by 2 incidents in the period January 2007 Jun None of the VDC/Municipality had explosions in same wards. This table can be used to prioritize the implementation of mine action programs. The VDCs/Municipalities with recurring incidents will especially need to be targeted, particularly for mine risk education (MRE) and mine clearance programs. In the first six months of 2011, there were two municipalities (Nepalgunj and Birgunj) and 13 VDCs had the incidents. Most of the affected VDCs (9) were in Mid-Western and Central region had one Municipality and two VDCs. Eastern region had one VDC affected in Incidents And Casulaties By Settings Place Incidents Adult Child Total Agriculture Forest/jungle Home Near SF base Path River Bank Road Village/town Total Table 5: Casualties and Incidents by Place (January June 2011) 17

18 As shown in table 5 and Figure 8 below, the highest number of incident (20%, 3) for victim-activated explosions occurred in the fields for cultivation and at home. Second highest number of incident (13%, 2) was near security base, forest/jungle and road. One incident occurred on the minefield while a deminer was injured. One incident in forest/jungle occurred when the victim was collecting fodder and in another, the victim was walking in the forest. Forest Agricultur e Village/ Town Home Near SF Base Path Road River Bank Figure 8: Casualties by Place (January-June 2011) 4.3 Casualties Before and After the Signing of CPA 14 people were affected by the devices that originated before the Comprehensive Peace Accord which accounts for 67% whereas 7 people or 33% were affected by the explosive devices that were originated after conflict time. It is noteworthy that the devices in all Tarai districts were originated after the signing of the CPA. This point to the fact that use of explosive devices continued in the Tarai districts even after the peace agreement, while the hilly areas became relatively peaceful. 5. CIRCUMSTANCES OF VICTIM-ACTIVATED EXPLOSIONS 5.1 Type of Explosive Device causing incidents Type of Name of Casualties Incidents device device Adult Child Total IED IED Total Tiffin Bomb Socket Bomb Pressure Cooker Pipe Bomb Unknown Mine Unknown Mine Total Total Table 6 and Figure 9 below show that 13 incidents (87%) were caused by Improvised Explosive Devices mainly socket bombs (27%) and tiffin bombs and pipe bombs accounted for (13%) and pressure cooker bomb was (7%). The percentage of unknown IEDs was (27%). While most of these bombs were used by Maoists during the conflict, nowadays these bombs are known to be used by Tarai groups. Table 6: Incidents and casualties by explosive device (January-June 2011) 18

19 19 casualties occurred due to activation of IEDs. Among these, 8 were adults and 11 were children. Socket bombs caused casualties of 5 children. One woman in Salyan was killed in the mine explosion when she entered the security base area to cut grass while one soldier was injured during the process of deming. Unknown IED, 8 Tiffin Bomb, 2 Socket Bomb, 5 Pressure Cooker bomb, 2 Pipe bomb, 1 Mine, 2 Figure 9: Indcidents and Casualties by Explosive Device (January- June 2011) 5.2 Cause of incidents Figure 10 shows, the main cause of casualties for this period is tampering or handling the device resulting in 7 (33%) casualties out of 21 and then walking near the explosive device (29%, 6). All of the casualties playing with EDs were children. Children, who are naturally more curious and have less knowledge of the risks involved, are more prone than adults to the dangers these devices pose. Figure 10: Casualties by Cause of Incident Farming Throw ED 1 1 Standing Nearby Playing Stepping Walking nearby 6 Tampering/ Handling ED Figure 10: Casualties by Cause of Incidents (January-June 2011) 19

20 5.3 Activation of the Device Who activated the device? Total Victim 19 Someone 2 Total 17 January-June 2011 As seen in Table 7, 19 casualties activated the explosive device themselves while 2 casualties were close to the person activating the device. Table 7: Activation of the device (January-June2011) 5.4 Death 14 casualties were injured and 7 persons were killed under VAE during the reporting period. 5.5 Description of Injuries Figure 11 shows the type of injuries sustained by the casualties. Most of victims suffered splinter injuries in various parts of their bodies. One boy each from Kalikot and Humla lost their fingers of right and left hand respectively and also suffered facial injuries. Many people sustained head, feet or thigh injuries. Most of the casualties suffered from small injuries and burns to the face, and legs indicating that they were facing the explosive device at the time of the incident. Loss of fingers was because the victims were handling the devices: one was throwing it while another one was handling it. Loss of: Eyesight 0 0 Eyesight Hearing 0 0 Hearing Arm 0 0 Arm Hand/ 2 Fingers 0 Hand/ Fingers Above Knee 0 0 Above Knee Other Injuries: Head/ Neck 5 1 Chest Back Arms Pelvis 0 Buttocks Abdomen 5 Legs Below Knee 0 0 Below Knee Foot/Toes 0 0 Foot/Toes Figure 11: Types of injuries (January-June 2011) 20

21 6. PROFILE OF THE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES January-June Age and Sex of Civilian Casualties As demonstrated in Figure 12 and Table 8, children accounted for 52 per cent (11) of the total number of ED casualties whereas adults accounted for 48 percent(10) of the total number of casualties. Age and Sex Casualties Boy 8 Girl 3 Men 6 Women 4 Total 21 Table 8: Casualties by Age (January-June 2011) Figure 13 (below) details the ages of all casualties resulting in various age groups. The graph clearly identifies the most affected age group for this period, as those children between years. Young boys from these age groups appear most at risk, accounting for 35.29% of total casualties, while girls from this age group account for 17.65%.The majority of child casualties resulted from children playing with the explosive device. Figure 12: Casualties by Age yrs yrs Casualties Figure 13: Casualties by Age group (January-June 2011) 21

22 As seen in Figure 14, male were 67% (14) and female were 33% (7) of the total casualties. Among the children, 8 were boys and 3 were girls. Similarly, 6 casualties were men and 4 were women. Female 43% Male 57% Figure 14: Casualties by Gender (January-June 2011) 6.2 Occupation of Casualties Occupation Adult Child Total Student Army Employee 2 2 Farmer Unemployed 1 Total In terms of occupation prior to the incident (Table 9), majority of the casualties included school students (12). Among them, one was 19 years old while others were 18 and below. One soldier was injured while demining and two were employees. One injured man was working in private institution where he got injured but the organization of another person could not be known. One of the casualties was unemployed. Table 9: Occupation of casualties prior to incident (January-June 2011) Language of Casualties (January-June 2011) Language Adult Child Total Nepali Bhojpuri Abadhi 1 1 Maithali Total As seen in Table 10, most of the casualties (86%) speak Nepali. The casualties speaking Bhojpuri, Abadhi and Maithali languages, widely spoken in Tarai belts, were also among the casualties. Developing MRE tools in each of the local languages listed would be effective in order to limit civilian casualties. Table 10: Language of Casualties (January-June 2011) 22

23 Literacy rate of Casualties January-June 2011 Child Adult Total Literate Casualties % Casualties % Casualties % Yes 11 52% 5 24% 7 86% No 0 0% 3 14% 3 14% Total 11 52% 8 48% % Table 11: Literacy rate of Casualties (Janauary-June 2011) As seen in the table 11, 86% casualties were literate. Among these 86 % literate casualties, 52% (11) were children and 24% (5) were adult casualties. Three (14%) adult casualties were illeterate. Marital Status Casualties % Single Married 7 33 Unknown 1 5 Total As seen in the table 12 and figure 15, 62% (13) of the total number of casualties were single and 33% (7) of the total number of casualties were married while status of one could not be known. Table 12: Marital Status of Casualties ( January-June 2011) 6.3 Economic Status of Casualties Economic status Injured/Killed Middle 5 Lower 11 Lowest 4 Unknown 1 Total 21 As seen in Table 13, 19% (4) of the total casualties were from lowest economic status; 52% (11) casualties were from lower economic status and 24 (5) were from the middle economic status while status of 5 per cent could not be known. Table 13: Economic Status of Casualties (January-June 2011) INSEC district representatives categorise casulties on the basis of their economic status. The ground for the categories are not based in any modern indicators but the ones used in Nepalese society, where possession of property specially the land is the prime indicator. The person or his family that does not own any land and depends on wage earning for the living is categorised as lowest economic status. Those who have some land but the produce is not enough for sustainence for the whole year and have to work at others field or temorarily migrate to work are categorised as lower economic status. Similalar, the people who land or income is sufficent to meet the basic needs of the family members are categorised as the middle class people. 23

24 6.4 Prior Knowledge of the Risks January-June 2011 Know area was dangerous? Casualties No 20 Yes 1 Total 21 Table 14: Knowledge of casualties about the danger of the area (Jan-June 2011) Know activity was dangerous? Casualties No 20 Yes 1 Total 21 Table 15: Knowledge of casualties about the danger of their activity (Jan-June2011) As seen in Table 14, one soldier invovled in demining knew that the area was dangerous and he also was aware that his activity posed threats. Besides him, none have been reported as being aware of potential danger in the area or the risk they were exposed to. Receive MRE prior to incident? Total As shown in Table 17, all 20 civilians had not received MRE but the same can t be said about the No 20 soldier involved in demining. This indicates that Yes 0 the MRE campaigns should improve their Unknown 1 coverage in affected areas. It was regretable that Total 21 the Nepal Army chose to keep the incident secret and accepted the occurrence only when tackled. Lack of transperancy may also lead to incomplete picture of the mine action situation. Table 17: Casualties who recived MRE before their incident (January-June 2011) 24

25 ANNEX CASE STUDY Boy Injured in Bomb Explosion Location of the Incident : Sarkideu VDC-2, Humla Date of the Incident : May 23, 2011 Kamal Mahatara, 9, of Rip in Sarkideu VDC-2 was injured in an explosion when he found an orange-like object near a tap on his way to the school and he threw it in the fire made by a traveller on the roadside. The boy lost all fingers of his left hand in the incident. He is being treated at the District Hospital, Humla. Mahatara is a grade V student at Laligurans Lower Secondary School in Liple. Kamal Mahatara, 9, Sarkideu VDC-2, Humla Sarkegad police station has sent a police team to site, some 80 kilometers from the district headquarters, informed Inspector Poshanraj Dhakal. He added the device could have been a sutali bomb. The parents of the boy needed help for his treatment as they could not afford to take the boy to better health facility as advised by the doctor. 25