Firearms safety in Somaliland: from mine action to community safety
Multiple border and civil wars have left Somaliland contaminated with explosive remnants of war and a surplus of small arms and light weapons. Today, unsecured firearms threaten daily life in rural villages, resulting in more deaths in Somaliland than from recent landmine incidents. Addressing the need for firearm security, the a Humanitarian Mine Action Unit in the Danish Refugee Council provides training and awareness through its Community Safety program.
Together with the rest of Somalia, the northwest region of Somaliland (previously British Somaliland) has a bloody past with years of civil war. Although it is not internationally recognized as a legitimate state, in 1991, it declared its independence from Somalia and became the Republic of Somaliland. Since then, the region has enjoyed relative peace and stability. With help from the Somali diaspora, Somaliland managed to establish a relatively well-functioning government with democratic elections and good (though mostly unofficial) diplomatic ties.
Mine Action and Community Safety
Following years of war, large areas of Somaliland became contaminated with landmines, explosive remnants of war and surplus small arms and light weapons.
Funded by the United Nations Development Programme and the Danish International Development Agency, the Humanitarian Mine Action Unit in the Danish Refugee Council (Danish Deming Group, DDG) began clearing minefields in Somaliland in 1999, alongside other agencies such as Rimfire, a British commercial mine-action agency. Shortly afterwards, The HALO Trust and Santa Barbara, a German nongovernmental organization, joined the effort.
By 2006, DDG had cleared more than 11,000 landmines and more than 124,000 ERW. With fewer contaminated areas and evidence of a greater rate of incidents caused by SA/LW than mines and ERW, DDG decided to shift its focus away from traditional mine action toward a broader approach addressing safety within local communities. In 2009, the Somaliland Mine Action Centre reported 19 incidents and 23 casualties from mines and ERW. DDG research from the same year estimated more than 7,500 firearm accidents and at least 11,000 incidents involving shootings or threats with firearms. Consequently, DDG started its Community Safety program in Somaliland in 2008 with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Netherlands.