The vast majority of them are civilians, including an appalling number of children. Many millions of mines are believed to lie in stockpiles. The carnage continues. One of every 5 new amputees is under 16 years of age. In Viet Nam, for example, the Quan Tri provincial hospital's records show that 124 of 339 victims of mine and ordnance casualties admitted between 1990 and 1994 were children.
Children are particularly at risk because of their innate inquisitiveness and love of play.
Mines come in a bewildering array of shapes and colours, all enticing to a child. The sheer number of landmines scattered indiscriminately sometimes leads children to regard them as harmless everyday objects. Decades after they are laid, they are capable of killing and maiming. An APM deployed today could still be active in the middle of the next century. Since the end of the Second World War, children have been dying from accidental contact with landmines and other explosives left by opposing forces.