EU funds for the Danish Refugee Council’s demining unit the Danish Demining Group makes it possible to increase efforts for security and stability in Libya. The organisation’s humanitarian work is to be extended with armed violence reduction and clearance of unexploded ordnance.

European Commission's Department of Humanitarian Aid  (ECHO) has allocated half a million Euros to increase the efforts in achieving security and stability in Libya after more than six months of fighting.

"The Danish Refugee Council has made a humanitarian effort during the fighting in Libya, and with the fall of the regime the country is moving into a new phase. We have extensive experience with working in the world's conflict zones, and we know that normalization requires security, "says Rasmus Stuhr Jakobsen, head of the Danish Refugee Council demining unit DDG.

The war in Libya has left behind large quantities of weapons and unexploded ordnance which constitutes a problem for security and stability in the country.

"It is obvious that it is a potential problem for the stability of Libya, that a large proportion of the population, including many young people, carry weapons. While at the same time, the war has left behind large quantities of unexploded ordnance and bomb fragments that threaten public safety. Our task is to secure better control of the large quantities of weapons and to clean up after the fighting - to protect civilians, "says Rasmus Stuhr Jakobsen.

The Danish Refugee Council’s humanitarian efforts have so far been concentrated in the Nafusa mountains in Western Libya, but with the fall of the regime, it is now possible to work in urban areas such as Tripoli and Sirte.

"We constantly assess the situation in order to extend our efforts to more areas. Today I have been in contact with our people in Sirte - there is an obvious need for our efforts, so it's one of the areas we focus on, "says Rasmus Stuhr Jakobsen.

The Danish Refugee Council is the largest international humanitarian organisation in Denmark with programs in 34 countries on three continents. The Danish Refugee Council's demining unit, the Danish Demining Group (DDG), works in a number of the world's most unstable areas such as Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

"We have had success reducing violence and casualties from small arms in a country like Somalia. It's not something that happens in an afternoon, but in close cooperation with those who carry weapons and the victims of violence it can be done - In Libya, we also have the advantage of becoming a part of the Danish Refugee Council's long-term humanitarian work,"says Rasmus Stuhr Jakobsen

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