By NNN-KUNA
Beirut : The unexploded cluster bombs and anti-personnel landmines left by Israel during the July, 2006 war against Lebanon killed and injured 29,200 people so far, said spokesperson of the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) Dalia Farran here Friday.
She made the remarks during a ceremony held by the UNMACC in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre in observance of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The UNMACC has identified 965 locations of unexploded cluster bombs and anti-personnel mines covering a total area of 39 million square meters in South Lebanon.
Forty-two percent of the area is totally demined, she disclosed.
The Lebanese Army is working with the UNMACC, the enhanced U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and other international organization to clear 47 percent of the remaining area.
The fruitful cooperation led to identification and safe detonation of 142 cluster bombs so far, Farran went on to say.
The casualties include 27 civilians killed and 245 others suffering from permanent disabilities, she asserted.
Thirteen demining workers were killed while on duty and 34 others were injured, she added.
The UN official blamed the rising figure of casualties among the Lebanese civilians and the demining workers on Israel which refused to disclose information on the locations of unexploded cluster bombs and anti-personnel mines.