In September 2017, TDI Route Assessment and Clearance Teams received a report of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) located in the South Sudanese town of Torit, in the South West of the country.
The UXO was exposed by heavy rain on a road between Torit and Kapeota. It is a busy route regularly used by pedestrians, school children and light and heavy vehicles supporting movement between the communities of Torit and Kapeota.
TDI located, identified, marked and removed the Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) to a storage facility to be destroyed at a later date. TDI was thanked by the community members for their work with one saying:
“I am Hazuka Joseph Grace. I am the Administrator and Finance officer for IMAN Medical Clinic. I am so, so grateful to the team of TDI for saving us from a terrible accident that could have happened. Many children are walking to school using this road and anything could have happened. My mother is staying in a village not far from this location. I was in shock when I wanted to visit my mother and found the TDI team stopping all movement on the road to remove the UXO. I drive this road sometimes on a daily basis. During the time it was raining I remember driving in the centre of the road and even most probably drove over this UXO. At my clinic, I get people for treatment and sometimes they struggle to walk so I ended up driving them to their home using this road. I thank TDI for doing this.”
The TDI Route Assessment and Clearance Team are providing support to UNMISS and the communities in South Sudan. Currently this team has destroyed 582 UXOs from various hazardous areas and conducted 130km of Route Support. Mine Risk Education (MRE) has also been given to school children and the team is constantly updating students and community members about potential threats.
