Mine action operations in Western Sahara

Mine action in Western Sahara - continuing humanitarian work

When faced with external challenges - such as political disharmony or, most recently, a global pandemic - SafeLane uses its extensive experience to adapt where needed to respond effectively.

SafeLane re-awarded a new contract in Western Sahara

When SafeLane was re-awarded a humanitarian contract in Western Sahara in 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, we managed to maintain our presence in country and were able to continue our critical mine clearance efforts thanks to the incredible cooperation of our staff and client.

Delivering mine clearance operation and Community Liaison

The new contract has brought team structure changes.  The delivery capacity consists of 2 x multitask teams (MTTs), and an area reduction team that will use mine-protected vehicles (MPVs) and roller assets. 

Community Liaison (CL) work continues with dedicated community liaison officers working as part of the multitask team capacity.  This embedded community liaison capacity enhances efficiency and collaboration, ensuring areas are prioritised correctly to clear land for communities. 

The SafeLane Community Liaison capacity is gender balanced to ensure they are approachable for all members of all communities.

External challenges - Coronavirus

Although there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus pandemic in Western Sahara, extreme caution is still being taken and PPE is being worn to protect both SafeLane staff and all those with whom they come in to contact. 

With masks having to be worn, this can make building rapport more challenging, but the teams are working extra hard to get to know the communities and ensure the safety of all involved.

The pandemic has certainly created challenges for all those working in international operations.  However, SafeLane’s head office and in-country management team did fantastic work to ensure the successful remobilisation of this project.

The area reduction team is currently working to provide non-technical surveys and conducting community liaison work.

SafeLane Global is proud to continue supporting its humanitarian clients to achieve their objectives in Western Sahara.  Utilising existing in country knowledge, amending processes, and being agile to external factors all help SafeLane ensure quality in delivery.

SafeLane’s previous mine action projects in Western Sahara

SafeLane Global was previously contracted by a global humanitarian client to provide mine action surveys, mechanical explosive ordnance disposal and rapid response capacities east of the Berm in Western Sahara.

During the first season of operations, SafeLane deployed contracted assets of 2 x MTTs, 1 CL team and a mechanical team in execution of the statement of work.

The CL team conducted technical and non-technical surveys and EOD spot tasks, depending on the location and the tasking. 

The MTTs were tasked to conduct technical surveys, battle area clearance and manual mine clearance tasks.

The mechanical team worked with a mine protected vehicle, a Casspir, on which a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system was mounted (an Amulet).  The Casspir deployed to trial this new GPR technology to search and survey confirmed hazardous areas (HA).