GENEVA, SWITZERLAND –Denmark becomes the latest country to announce its territory free of minefields after having cleared the last remaining minefield from WW2. The announcement comes days after Finland formally acceded to the landmine ban treaty.
Ir was officially marked at an event on July 5, 2012 at. 10.30 at Skallingen, where Minister of Transport Henrik Dam Kristensen detonated the last mine found on the southernmost part of Skallingen. Thus, Denmark has complied with its international obligations under the Ottawa Convention, where Denmark, like a number of other countries, undertook to completely destroy dangerous minefields on the territory of the countries in question.
During WW2, as many as 8000 landmines were left in the peninsula of Skallingen in Denmark. It is estimated that a whopping 1.4 million mines were originally deployed in the country. But most of these were removed between the period of 1945 to 1947. With the clearing of landmines, Denmark becomes the 20th party of the 1997 international treaty to have fulfilled its landmines clearing obligations.
