Russian anti personnel mines in afghanistan book

Most modern anti vehicle mines use a magnetic trigger to enable it to detonate even if the tires or tracks. Seminars, conferences and exchange visits are well and good, but will only deliver results in the future. Government of the islamic republic of afghanistan the convention. A russian soldiers story by vladislav tamarov a photo diary, with short essays. A dangerous and unnecessary reversal on landmines the. China is believed to have the largest stockpile, mostly of anti personnel mines. But from what i can tell, the mine is so cheap and fragile, the even pretty much touching or moving it will trip the explosive. Soviets leave dangerous legacy behind in afghanistan. Its extremely simple design and use of wooden components allowed it to be produced in great numbers. P882 the pmd6, series mines are russian blast type anti personnel mines that consist of a wooden box with a hinged lid. Keiler mine flail tank minefield clearing vehicle youtube. The available evidence suggests that china, italy and the former soviet union were probably the largest producers and exporters of anti personnel mines in recent years, though not necessarily in that order. An antipersonnel ap landmine is designed to be detonated by.

A land mine can be triggered by a number of things including pressure, movement, sound, magnetism and vibration. The international committee of the red cross estimated in 1994 that it would take 4,300 years to remove all the soviet land mines in afghanistan. What will the impact be on the mine ban movement if the u. Dec 16, 2017 second part of my trip on the eastern front with my buddy chris. The need for improved efforts to remove anti personnel land mines and for heightened efforts to address the needs of their victims was stressed this morning as the general assembly began its. Both have caused great suffering in the past decades. The normal fuse requires 200 kg to detonate the mine, but there is also a magnetic fuse that will go off 50% of the time when mine detectors are passed over it, or 10% of the time if a knife blade is used to probe for it. The 19791989 soviet war in afghanistan lasted more than nine years, and mine warfare was a major component of it. The use of anti personnel mines in the area denial role is a wide spread practice in afghanistan. In july 2005, a nationwide project for the destruction of anti personnel mines and ammunition was launched when the government of afghanistan and the united nations development programme undp. Altogether the armed forces of ukraine included about 780,000 personnel, 6,500 tanks, about 7,000 combat armored vehicles, 1,500 combat aircraft, and more than 350 ships. The russians claim first use of this technology in the russoturkish war of.

Mines bombs projectiles and shells relics replica weapons. Education in afghanistan in the years preceding the soviet afghan war was largely secular. There were too many dead and not enough shovels, so a local politician brought in heavy machinery from a nearby. Kalashnikov also unveiled a prototype companion vehicle for the soratnik in 2017. In the antipersonnel mine ban convention also known as the ottawa treaty and the. Nov 08, 2019 chinese land mines are still available on the international arms black market. Since the early days of the soviet war in afghanistan, forces of the. In fact, antipersonnel blast mine or pfm1s was almost an exact copy of the american mines, blu43b or dragontooth, which can be translated as dragon tooth. For every 5,000 mines cleared, one deminer is killed and two are injured. General boris gromov, who commanded the soviet 40th army during the.

Last year, ukraine had accused russia of planting anti tank and anti personnel landmines on its territory during moscows annexation of crimea. Danish soldier steps on mine english subtitles youtube. In december 1997, representatives from a number of countries signed the convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti personnel mines and on their destruction, also known as the ottawa treaty. Dubbed nakhlebnik hangeron, because funding for it was leeched off soratniks budget is essentially a scaleddown copy of the soratnik, armed with only an antipersonnel machine gun. The mine was not officially adopted by the united states. In a fascinating contribution to the active literature on civil wars, this book finds that some contemporary rebel groups actually comply with international law amid the brutality of civil conflicts around the world. A guide to mine action and explosive remnants of war. Mines bombs projectiles and shells 60 replica grenades 67 grenades and ordnance accessories 2 ammunition. Time for action, not ed, document 0574002 published 3. The first russian book he read from cover to cover was the combat actions of a motorized. I know its different, thats always what youre told. Formally ends landmine production arms control association. In afghanistan, landmines claim between 20 and 25 victims a day. As for tripping the mine, there is a small plunger on the side of the mine that when tripped will fire the small liquid explosive.

It has been adopted by the russian ground forces in january 2018 under the ratnik program. This box sits on two sets of legs or a stand, and is generally coloured olive, black or brown. Both devices are very similar in shape and principles, although they use different explosives. I believe is an epic statement to the russian experience in afghanistan. Churches at west bank site where many believe jesus was. Usually but not always at mines are also designed to. Antipersonnel ap mines are designed to be activated by people, whilst anti tank at mines are intended to defeat tanks or other armoured vehicles. Dec 29, 2019 azizabad, afghanistan once the americans left, the survivors started digging. Russianbacked afghan military forces used mines for the protection of their military. Removal of this ringpull arms the mine after a delay of approximately 120 seconds. This represents a significant reduction from the previous total reported in 2002 of approximately 10. A german world war ii era schu mine 42 anti personnel mine.

It was designed to look like a nondescript piece of hardware such as a part which mightve fallen off a truck or. Though export moratoria are valuable in marking out anti personnel mines as an unacceptable type of weapon, many of those involved in the various campaigns believe that export moratoria alone will not reduce the toll of landmines on civilians and are pressing for a complete ban on production, stockpiling and use of anti personnel mines. If you are interested go listen to this mans voice on npr, from ten years ago, 15 years after he had left afghanistan. List of equipment of the russian ground forces wikipedia. At the preparatory conference for the convention on certain conventional weapons, mexico stated that it had already submitted proposals concerning the limitation of the use of antipersonnel and antitank mines and booby traps to military targets and their immediate surroundings, with effective precautions to protect civilians. The random placement of mines became part of military strategy, creating hazardous environments for many people. Humanitarian mine action actors in afghanistan have cleared more than 18 million. It has been written about in the book of the same name by alfred m. However, according to nikolai kuzmin, the author of the book military intelligence officers in afghanistan. The design of the pmn1 mine dates from the late 1950s. Mark perry reports on the trump administrations recent reversal of restrictions on the use of landmines for nearly 30 years, the u. President trump ends obamaera restrictions on use of land mines.

The russians had also seized 605 landmines stored at a ukrainian military depot in crimea. Jan 01, 2007 afghanistan, angola, and iraq share a handful of pages despite the importance of mines in each war. The mujahideen were backed primarily by the united states, saudi arabia, pakistan and. The new policy affects anti personnel land mines, which are small explosive charges buried in or placed on the ground. As part of the june policy announcement the pentagon has disclosed that the us has an active stockpile of just over 3 million antipersonnel mines in the inventory. Unfortunately, funding has dropped to 41 percent of what it was in 2011 which has contributed to afghanistan falling behind on its ottawa treaty 2023 commitments. If anti personnel mines are unavailable, it is possible to improvise boobytraps by connecting tripwires to hand grenades, smoke grenades or flares.

Its designed to provide cover for its bigger fellow. A great deal of damage was done to the civilian children population by land mines. Adults caught in the blast of an anti personnel mine. During that time of soviet occupation, regional military leaders in afghanistan helped the u. The united states stopped using longlife anti personnel mines in 2011 and agreed to destroy its stockpile of 1. Between 1918 and 1939 the development and use of the anti personnel mine became a priority among military strategists and it was widely used throughout poland, russia. This russian antitank mine is one of the highestyield mines around, containing 7. Cluster bombs and anti personnel land mines, deadly explosives known for maiming and killing civilians long after the fighting ended, have become integral to the pentagons future war plans. Claymore anti personnel mine, and chinese mines that are either copies of the claymore or are copies of the soviet copy. Even dummy tripwires can be placed to hamper sniper movement.

Chapter 4 describes the content of the antipersonnel mine ban convention ap mbc, which entered into force on 1 march 1999. From ronald reagan and the soviet afghan war to george w bush and september 11, 2001, global research, september 09, 2010 religious schools were generously funded by the united states of america. Digger dtr remote controlled demining machine with tiller, anti tank explosion survival test. It has not exported them since 1992, nor produced new mines since 1997. Data obtained under the freedom of information act reveals that the united states has exported more than 4. Russias new landmine can distinguish between soldiers and. The involvement of the soviet special forcesthe spetsnazin afghanistan began in 1980. It was adopted in 1997 and it entered into force on 1 march 1999. Land mines, a persistent civilian killer, are coming back. A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy. Mines can be either designed as anti personnel or anti tank.

A 2005 report estimated 34% of the afghan population were disabled due to soviet and government land mines. Pfm1 is a land mine of soviet production, very similar to the blu43 us army landmine. It has been produced in various shades of brown, green, and white. Mujahideen8 forces used antivehicle mines in order to block the movement of russian and. Obama administration continues bush policy on land mines. Turning a remarkable afghanistan escape into a film. Summary the air war in afghanistan has provided us with a good look at soviet war fighting.

The continued importance of mines today receives limited attention, although the international efforts to limit anti personnel end page 276 mines is covered. By early 2007, more than threequarters of the worlds states had become parties to it. They demanded that the primers contain anti soviet passages. The soviet afghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guerrilla war against the soviet army and the democratic republic of afghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mostly in the afghan countryside. Along with their equipment and personnel, ukraines armed forces inherited the battle honors and lineage of the soviet forces stationed in ukraine. Soviet russian afghanistan soldier military army panama cap hat 59 ussr. The war in afghanistan, code named operation enduring freedom 200114 and operation freedoms sentinel 20152020, followed the united states invasion of afghanistan of 7 october 2001, when the united states of america and its allies successfully drove the taliban from power in order to deny alqaeda a safe base of operations in afghanistan. Anti personnel blast mines are the most common type and are typically deployed on the surface hidden by leaves or rocks or buried under soil at a depth of 10 20 mm. Dec 09, 2018 cia chief who orchestrated assassination of general soleimani was among those killed when us military plane crashed in afghanistan, iranian news agency claims.

Canadas role in the afghanistan war began in late 2001. A 1993 bernie gunther thriller which delves into the wehrmacht war crimes bureaus investigations of soviet war crimes. Old mines bring new casualties in afghanistan hundreds of afghans, mostly children, are killed or injured each year from old mines and unexploded ammunition in unmarked areas. The role and control of weapons in the 1990s ebook ed. The soviet command soon realized that mechanized infantry units were not effective against mujahideen guerrilla tactics. A german world war ii era schumine 42 antipersonnel mine. Both the soviets and their afghan counterparts from the democratic republic of afghanistan employed millions of anti personnel land mines in pattern minefields. Russian forces based in tajikistan, beginning in late 2000, have laid antipersonnel mines inside tajikistan on the tajikafghan border.

The soviets did certainly use the pfm1 bomblets it was a direct copy of an american device used in vietnam, the blu43b. It stated that pakistan has the second largest stockpile of mines with an estimated six million anti personnel landmines, behind russia which has a staggering 26. Unlike antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines tend to be larger and heavier and often incorporate warheads specially designed to punch through the steel hulls of tanks and armored personnel carriers. But, even when the wars are over and the soldiers have gone, these eternal sentinals continue to maim and kill. Pfm1 was mainly used during the soviet invasion of afghanistan, allegedly resulting in. Pmn1 antipersonnel mine manufactured in july 1978 showing the arming pin in situ. Anti personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Not even the military thinks landmines are a vital tool. The convention aims to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by antipersonnel mines.

The united states has not used these or other mine ban treatybanned mines since 1991, with the exception of a single use in afghanistan in 2002. Afghanistan has an estimated 1015 million mines in place. Pakistan has worlds second largest stockpile of anti. Though official data would seem to place the united states far behind, field reports from mine clearance groups suggest that the u. The spetsnaz were called in as the only forces capable of fighting the enemy on his own terms. Ad they are designed to kill and injure enemy forces. Jan 17, 2011 viktor bout, a former soviet russian military officer with ties to russian military intelligence the gru, and current black market arms seller, scheduled to go court on friday, vindicates the.

The inherent difficulty of mine clearance is compounded by the great variety of mines in usemore than 700 types are known. Maiming an enemy combatant is more effective than killing since resources are needed to evacuate. Among the legacies of the soviet invasion, and the factional conflicts that followed the defeat of soviet forces, are the hundreds of thousands of land mines that. The mines were placed by soldiers during wars of aggression or by combatants during civil wars. Second part of my trip on the eastern front with my buddy chris. It is particularly deadly because it contains an unusually large explosive filling when compared to most other anti personnel landmines. Widely used in afghanistan, the soviet pfm1 scatterable pressuresensitive blast mine is also known as the butterfly mine because of its shape, which unfortunately attracts children who think it is a toy. Afghanistan marks the 15th anniversary of the withdrawal of soviet troops from the country on 15 february. For this reason the anti personnel mine was developed, designed to prevent enemy soldiers from removing the anti tank mines. On a us m14 mine, 29 grams of tetryl is used, while 240 grams of tnt is used in a russian pmn mine. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in soviet russian history, military historians and also to anyone interested in the terrors of war and what it was like to witness it. Anti tank mines will not normally be triggered if you stand on one. The old ones are often but not always sold before they become worthless.

Landmines, livelihoods and postconflict land rights global. Kerr noted in his afterward that the wehrmacht war crimes bureau continued to exist until 1945. Canada sent its first element of soldiers secretly in october 2001 from joint task force 2, and the first contingents of regular canadian troops arrived in afghanistan in januaryfebruary 2002. Mar 28, 2020 chinese landmines are still available on the international arms black market. Ieds, land mines, and booby traps in the sovietafghan war.

Increased financing is critical to realizing afghanistan s plan to be anti personnel mine free by 2023, in line with the countrys obligations under the ottawa treaty. Regimental flags and pennants 9 british county flags and pennants 2 coffin drapes 4 general flags 14 german. Innocent men, women, and children in many third world countries are killed and maimed by antipersonnel landmines. The role and control of weapons in the 1990s e book ed. Ukraine claimed russian troops had set up fields of mines between crimea and the rest of ukraine.

The utility of the landmines will start to decline in about 10 years, and the mines will be completely unusable after 20 years, he said. German engineers clear a minefield, utilizing a german keiler flail tank, during exercise in san gregorio, spain. Even in the relatively peaceful bamiyan, a province in afghanistan s central highlands, land mines and other explosives remain pervasive. In the past decade, however, the us exported about 150,000 anti personnel mines. The 19791989 soviet war in afghanistan lasted more than nine years, and.

The pentagon will once again be free to use anti personnel land mines to protect u. For this reason, we attach special significance to projects like retraining discharged military personnel to equip them with civilian skills and destroying surplus stockpiles of russian anti personnel mines. How to disarm a russian, pmn2, antipersonnel mine youtube. The most interesting aspect, in my opinion, is the authors prediction the book was written in 1986 that the war would last some 20 years and that nobody ever won a war of atrittion against russia soviet union at the time but the author keep calling it russia. Ares has previously documented their employment during the ukraine conflict. Antipersonnel ap mines there are hundreds of different types of ap mine. It maintains a supply of socalled smart landmines that can. The russian ministry of defense has signed a threeyear contract with the kalashnikov concern for 150,000 ak12 and ak15 assault rifles to be delivered in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Ukraine has joined 10 other nations around the world where antipersonnel mines are still being laid north korea, iraq, syria, afghanistan, pakistan, colombia, libya, yemen, tunisia and myanmar. Whilst the pmn2 is one of the most prolific antipersonnel mines in the world, the pmn4 is less frequently encountered.

Anti personnel landmines are prohibited under the convention on the. World war two german glasmine 43 anti personnel mine duration. Russian mon50 empty claymore bag afghanistan cold war. Pictures and descriptions are from the report landmines. Antipersonnel blast mines are the most common type and are typically deployed on the surface hidden by leaves or rocks or buried under soil at a depth of 10 20 mm. Green parrot, also known as butterfly mine is a land mine of soviet production, very similar to the blu43 us army landmine. Italian anti tank and anti personnel mines, are detonated by the momentarily sustained pressure from a passing vehicle or foot. A rifle, id tag, some small stuff and a huge anti tank mine. The old ones are often sold before they become worthless. A brief summary of the campaign to ban antipersonnel mines is also. Seventeen million people have died in civil wars and rebel violence has disrupted the lives of millions more.