Mozambique is finally free of landmines

Cat-sized rats were trained to sniff out the mines    (C)Betterplace.org

Mozambique has finally been declared a landmine-free country after the last known landmine was removed. About 171,000 landmines were reportedly removed in two decades of work by Halo Trust, a British charity that led the clearance disclosed. The landmines were left after a long fight for independence followed by a civil war, reported BBC. Many were planted up until the 1990s.
The charity says it is the first large mine-contaminated country to be completely cleared of mines. The last mine was removed from the base of a railway bridge in the center of the country.These cruel weapons are designed to deny territory to "the enemy" but invariably it is ordinary civilians, including children, who pay the heaviest price.
Whilst anti-personnel mines rendered huge swathes of land in Mozambique no-go areas following the struggle for independence and a long civil war, what often gets lost in the headlines is the inhibiting effect landmines have on economic development, the BBC reports.