Unexploded ordnance#Around the world

Unexploded ordnance, no matter how old, may explode. It might seem that the dangers of UXO decrease over time, but this is not always the case. Corrosion and damages sustained on impact pose significant difficulties to defuse UXO safely and also make the consequences of defusion harder to predict. Mixed explosive agents might separate or migrate over time and leave contact explosives like nitroglycerine at random places in the shell. Sometimes components of the original explosives, in the presence of moisture, can form new explosive compounds with the metals in the shells like picrates that can leave a shell highly explosive, even when it is defused and the detonator destroyed or removed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Even if unexploded ordnance does not explode, environmental pollutants are released as it degrades.{{cite book |title=Cleanup of Chemical and Explosive Munitions: Location, Identification and Environmental Remediation |url=https://archive.org/details/cleanupchemicale00albr_271 |url-access=limited |first=Richard |last=Albright |year =2011 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cleanupchemicale00albr_271/page/n103 120] |publisher=William Andrew |location=Oxford|isbn=9781437734782 }} The toxic compounds and heavy metals can contaminate water and soil over time. Recovery, particularly of deeply-buried projectiles, is difficult and hazardous—jarring may detonate the charge. Once uncovered, explosives can often be transported safely to a site where they can be destroyed; if this is not possible, they must be detonated on site which might require evacuation of the surrounding area.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Unexploded ordnance dating as far back as the mid-19th century{{cite web |last=Lakin |first=Matt |url=http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/history-shell-of-former-self |title=Deputies blow up Civil War ordnance found in Farragut |work=Knoxville News Sentinel |date=15 August 2008 |access-date=5 March 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715090746/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/history-shell-of-former-self |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |url=http://www.archaeology.org/9611/newsbriefs/civilwar.html |title=Live Civil War Ammo Found |journal=Archaeology |volume=49 |issue=6 |date=November–December 1996 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=18 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118181727/http://www.archaeology.org/9611/newsbriefs/civilwar.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24441427|title=Civil War Cannonball Explodes and Kills Virginia Relic Collector|publisher=NBC News|date=5 March 2008|access-date=10 September 2010|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111231953/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24441427|url-status=live}} still poses a hazard worldwide, both in current and former combat areas and at military firing ranges. A major problem with unexploded ordnance is that over the years, the detonator and main charge deteriorate to such an extent that they frequently become more sensitive to disturbance and therefore more dangerous to handle. Construction works may disturb unsuspected unexploded bombs, which may then explode. Forest fires may be aggravated if buried ordnance explodes. Heat waves, causing the water level to drop severely, may increase the danger of immersed ordnance. There are countless examples of people tampering with unexploded ordnance that is many years old, often with fatal results.{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/vietnam/121203/unexploded-mortar-shell-kills-vietnamese-children |title=Unexploded mortar shell kills Vietnamese children |work=GlobalPost |date=3 December 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=6 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106083452/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/vietnam/121203/unexploded-mortar-shell-kills-vietnamese-children |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.libyaherald.com/2012/11/18/two-people-killed-in-rubbish-dump-blast |title=Two officials killed by unexploded ordnance at rubbish dump in Hasawna |work=Libya Herald |date=18 November 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128135206/http://www.libyaherald.com/2012/11/18/two-people-killed-in-rubbish-dump-blast |archive-date=28 November 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/07/01/news/foreign/4-afghan-children-killed-by-unexploded-weaponry |title=4 Afghan children killed by unexploded weaponry |work=Pakistan Today |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=1 July 2012 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=30 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630215914/http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/07/01/news/foreign/4-afghan-children-killed-by-unexploded-weaponry/ |url-status=live }} For this reason, it is universally recommended that unexploded ordnance should not be touched or handled by unqualified persons. Instead, the location should be reported to the local police so that bomb disposal or Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) professionals can render it safe.{{Cite web |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f63381b8fa8f5107025c15b/Bomb_alert_and_threat_template.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |title=Bomb Alert/Threat Template |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=view.officeapps.live.com |archive-date=4 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404115036/https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f63381b8fa8f5107025c15b/Bomb_alert_and_threat_template.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |url-status=live }}

Although professional EOD personnel have expert knowledge, skills and equipment, they are not immune to misfortune because of the inherent dangers: in June 2010, construction workers in Göttingen, Germany discovered an Allied {{convert|500|kg|lb|adj=on}} bomb dating from World War II buried approximately {{convert|7|m|ft}} below the ground. German EOD experts were notified and attended the scene. Whilst residents living nearby were being evacuated and the EOD personnel were preparing to disarm the bomb, it detonated, killing three of them and severely injuring six others. The dead and injured each had over 20 years of hands-on experience, and had previously rendered safe between 600 and 700 unexploded bombs. The bomb which killed and injured the EOD personnel was of a particularly dangerous type because it was fitted with a delayed-action chemical fuze (with an integral anti-handling device) which had not operated as designed, but had become highly unstable after over 65 years underground.{{cite web |author=International |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,698245,00.html |title=Routine Disposal Goes Wrong: Three Killed in Explosion of World War II Bomb in Germany |work=Der Spiegel |date=2 June 2010 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=29 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129160812/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,698245,00.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10212890.stm |work=BBC News |title=WWII bomb kills three in Germany |date=2 June 2010 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |access-date=2 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229171802/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10212890 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7795709/Three-dead-as-Second-World-War-bomb-explodes-in-Germany.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7795709/Three-dead-as-Second-World-War-bomb-explodes-in-Germany.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Three dead as Second World War bomb explodes in Germany|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=2 June 2010| access-date=10 September 2010|location=London}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/178648/Bomb-kills-German-explosive-experts/ |title=Bomb kills German explosive experts |work=Daily Express |date=2 June 2010 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=5 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605023829/http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/178648/Bomb-kills-German-explosive-experts |url-status=live }} The type of delayed-action fuze in the Göttingen bomb was commonly used: a glass vial containing acetone was smashed after the bomb was released; the acetone was intended, as it dripped downwards, to disintegrate celluloid discs holding back a spring-loaded trigger that would strike a detonator when the discs degraded sufficiently after some minutes or hours. These bombs, when striking soft earth at an angle, often end their trajectory not pointing downwards, so that the acetone did not drip onto and weaken the celluloid; but over many years the discs degraded until the trigger was released and the bomb detonated spontaneously, or when weakened by being jarred.{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/ |title=There Are Still Thousands of Tons of Unexploded Bombs in Germany, Left Over From World War II |website=Smithsonian Magazine |date=January 2016 |author=Adam Higginbotham |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924090244/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/ |url-status=live }}

In November 2013, four US Marines were killed by an explosion whilst clearing unexploded ordnance from a firing range at Camp Pendleton. The exact cause is not known, although the Marines had been handing grenades they were collecting to each other, a practice permitted but discouraged. It is thought that a grenade may have exploded after being kicked or bumped, setting off hundreds of other grenades and shells.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-four-marines-killed-training-20140305-story.html|title=2 relieved of command for blast that killed 4 Camp Pendleton Marines|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=6 March 2014|author=Tony Perry|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=24 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224060506/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-four-marines-killed-training-20140305-story.html|url-status=live}}

A dramatic example of munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) threat is the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, which was sunk in shallow water about {{Convert|1.5|miles|order=flip}} from the town of Sheerness and {{Convert|5|miles|order=flip}} from Southend. The wreckage still contains 1,400 tons of explosives. In comparison with the World War II wreck of the SS Kielce which rests at a higher depth, with a smaller load of explosives, it still exploded after a salvaging operation in 1967 and produced a tremor measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151027-the-ticking-time-bomb-of-the-thames|title=The bombs that lurk off the UK coast|website=BBC|date=28 October 2015|author=Jon Excell|access-date=10 April 2019|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410162354/http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151027-the-ticking-time-bomb-of-the-thames|url-status=live}}

{{Clear}}

File:TBJ 4681.jpg (8621592150).jpg shell during a United Nations Mine Action Service demonstration in Mogadishu]]

File:TBJ 4755 (8620480711).jpg

{{See also|Land mines in North Africa}}

During the fighting in North Africa between the Axis and Allied forces, much of North Africa was heavily mined to prevent military advances. During the conflict, in addition to the millions of mines that were placed, some of the millions of shells which were fired did not explode, and remain deadly to this day. Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia are all affected by this issue, with civilians being injured and killed every year. UXO also slows progress, with areas having to be demined before being developed.{{Cite web |last=Sourour |first=Ayman |date=20 March 2024 |title=Explosive Remnants of War in North Africa |url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=cisr-journal |access-date=20 March 2024 |website=Explosive Remnants of War in North Africa |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226190549/https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1785&context=cisr-journal |url-status=live }}

Algeria has been contaminated with large numbers of mines and UXO throughout several wars, starting from World War II. During the Algerian war for independence, French forces laid up to 10 million mines on the Morice and Challe lines, on the eastern and western sides of the country. In 2007, France officially handed over maps to Algerian authorities showing the locations of minefields. The lack of these maps had previously severely hampered Algerian demining efforts.{{Cite web |title=Algeria (download) |url=http://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Algeria.pdf |website=www.mineactionreview.org |access-date=23 March 2024 |archive-date=23 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323155623/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Algeria.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Algeria - Safelane operations |url=https://www.safelaneglobal.com/experience/algeria |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=SafeLane Global |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Lahyani |first=Othman |location=Algiers |date=2023-06-01 |title=Algeria: 8 million landmines destroyed since 2004 |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/algeria-8-million-landmines-destroyed-2004 |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=www.newarab.com/ |language=en |archive-date=22 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322204555/https://www.newarab.com/news/algeria-8-million-landmines-destroyed-2004 |url-status=live }}

Further mines were laid in the Algerian civil war by both warring parties, requiring further demining efforts. However, these mining operations were not on nearly as large a scale as French operations.

By July 2016, Algeria reported that it had cleared all major minefields it had identified to clear. Thereafter, Algeria called on French authorities to provide compensation to the families of the 4000 people who are estimated to have been killed by mines, and thousands who have been left disabled from French ordnance.

Chad has been dealing with contamination issues stemming from its numerous conflicts between the 1960s and the 1980s. A significant portion of this contamination comes from the presence of anti-personnel mines, many of which are believed to have originated from Libyan sources during that period. As of 2020, estimates provided by the Mine Action Review indicated that approximately 10 square kilometers (or 3.9 square miles) of Chadian territory remained contaminated with these dangerous antipersonnel mines. Additionally, a smaller portion of unexploded ordnance (UXO) related to cluster munitions continues to affect some regions in the northern part of the country.

In recent years, the ongoing jihadist insurgency led by Boko Haram has further complicated the situation. According to the Chadian government, Boko Haram and similar insurgent groups are likely responsible for laying additional mines. These groups are also known for scavenging explosives from pre-existing UXO in order to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs), making the clearance of these remnants of war even more critical for national security. Effective mine clearance and UXO removal are essential not only to reduce the threat of accidental detonation, but also to limit the availability of materials that insurgents might use for their attacks.{{Cite web |date=15 April 2024 |title=Clearing the Mines: Chad |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/907_NPA_Clearing_the_Mines_2020_Chad.pdf |access-date=15 April 2024 |website=Mine Action review |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416191206/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/907_NPA_Clearing_the_Mines_2020_Chad.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Mine Action {{!}} Reports {{!}} Monitor |url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2016/chad/mine-action.aspx |access-date=2024-04-15 |website=www.the-monitor.org}}

Egypt is the most heavily mined country in the world (by number) with as many as 22.7 million mines as of 2024. It is estimated that 22% of Egypt's territory is mined. These mines are from both World War II and wars that Egypt has fought with Israel. Mines contaminate large amounts of agricultural land, slowing development efforts. De-mining is a priority in the country to open up more land for agriculture purposes, oil drilling and mining. Nevertheless, Egypt stresses its need to deploy mines in order to protect its borders.{{Cite web |title=Landmines and UXOs in Egypt {{!}} MineProbe |url=https://alaakhamis.org/MineProbe/landmines-uxos-egypt.html#:~:text=Egypt%20has%20been%20listed%20as,of%20the%20total%20landmines%20worldwide. |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=alaakhamis.org |archive-date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321214637/https://alaakhamis.org/MineProbe/landmines-uxos-egypt.html#:~:text=Egypt%20has%20been%20listed%20as,of%20the%20total%20landmines%20worldwide. |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor |url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/1999/egypt.html |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=archives.the-monitor.org |archive-date=6 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506011747/http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/1999/egypt.html |url-status=live }}

Ethiopia was heavily mined in World War II, the Eritrean War of Independence, the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, and the Tigray War.{{Cite web |date=2008-04-04 |title=Eritrea/Ethiopia: Remembering the innocent victims of landmines - Ethiopia {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/eritreaethiopia-remembering-innocent-victims-landmines |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819152236/https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/eritreaethiopia-remembering-innocent-victims-landmines |url-status=live }} The most heavily affected regions are Afar, Somali, and Tigray regions which have seen repeated conflict.{{Cite web |date=2017-03-20 |title=Mine action |url=https://unmee.unmissions.org/mine-action |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=UNMEE |language=en |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518072846/https://unmee.unmissions.org/mine-action |url-status=live }} A study in 2004 found that landmines and UXO affected an estimated 1.5 million people. Between 2000 and 2004, they caused 588 fatalities and 1,300 injuries.

Libya was first contaminated with UXO in World War II, in areas such as Tobruk, where heavy fighting took place. The contamination from World War II is largely unexploded ordnance and anti vehicle mines.{{Cite web |title=Clearing the mines: Libya |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Libya_Clearing_the_Mines_2022.pdf |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=Clearing the Mines |archive-date=27 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327201144/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Libya_Clearing_the_Mines_2022.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=German Mine Fields in Libya, WWII Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 1, June 18, 1942 (Lone Sentry) |url=https://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt08/german-mine-fields-in-libya.html |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=www.lonesentry.com |archive-date=27 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240327201144/https://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt08/german-mine-fields-in-libya.html |url-status=live }}

Libya was contaminated during its wars with Egypt and Chad, and it is also believed that the border with Tunisia is contaminated. While Muammar Gaddafi was in power in Libya, mines were placed around military facilities and other key infrastructure.{{Cite web |title=Impact {{!}} Reports {{!}} Monitor |url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2021/libya/impact.aspx |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=www.the-monitor.org |archive-date=15 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315212741/https://www.the-monitor.org//en-gb/reports/2021/libya/impact.aspx |url-status=live }}

In the first Libyan civil war that began in 2011, both government and opposition forces used mines. According to the Libyan mine action centre, 30–35,000 mines were laid; however, these were largely cleared after the downfall of the Gaddafi regime by ex-soldiers. With the downfall of the Gaddafi regime, in March 2011 large ammunition depots were left unatetended, and easily accessible by the civilian population, as well as soldiers and paramilitary forces. The government did not regain control of these depots, and munitions from the same depots were spread across the country. Several of the stores also exploded, spreading dangerous ordnance over a wide area. Many military vehicles were also destroyed in fighting all across the country, and these often contained ordnance in an unstable condition.{{Cite web |date=2011-04-06 |title=Libya: unexploded munitions pose major risk for civilians - ICRC |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/news-release/2011/libya-news-2011-04-06.htm |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=www.icrc.org |language=en-us |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328125250/https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/news-release/2011/libya-news-2011-04-06.htm |url-status=live }}

With hostilities breaking out again in 2014, there were reports of both landmines and IEDs being laid by opposition groups, particularly in urban areas. This complicated clearance operations as these areas are often densely populated.

In 2019, clashes between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and government forces around Tripoli escalated, with the LNA surrounding Tripoli in January 2020 and launching constant rocket and artillery attacks. Both sides were also reported to be using weapons indiscriminately against international law and endangering civilian lives. Weapons such as drones from Turkey and China were used, violating the UN arms embargo placed on Libya. When the LNA forces withdrew from the east of Tripoli in June 2021, they left behind an unspecified amount of IEDs. It was reported by the UN mine action service that booby traps were left in civilian homes with their only purpose being to cause civilian casualties. In January 2020, the UN estimated that Libya was contaminated by up to 20 million mines and pieces of UXO.{{Cite web |title=Libya's relentless militia war: Civilians harmed in the battle for Tripoli, April - August 2019 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde19/1201/2019/en/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Amnesty International |date=21 October 2019 |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328125254/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde19/1201/2019/en/ |url-status=live }}

The Russian paramilitary organisation Wagner which was operating in the area, also reportedly left munitions and mines in southern Tripoli. Human Rights Watch said that the Wagner Group and other militias left behind "enormous" amounts of ordnance. In August 2021, the BBC reported receiving an electronic tablet containing information on Wagner operators' role in laying mines. Deminers in Tripoli reported finding documents in Russian in rooms that they were demining. On 24 May 2022, the Human Rights Watch wrote to the Russian foreign minister, asking to review their findings connecting with the Wagner group operations in laying mines in Tripoli, and clarify on the group's role in the conflict. The Russian authorities did not respond.{{Cite news |date=2021-08-10 |title=Wagner: Scale of Russian mercenary mission in Libya exposed |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58009514 |access-date=2024-03-28 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217203231/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58009514 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2022-05-31 |title=Libya: Russia's Wagner Group Set Landmines Near Tripoli {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/31/libya-russias-wagner-group-set-landmines-near-tripoli |access-date=2024-03-28 |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531125548/https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/31/libya-russias-wagner-group-set-landmines-near-tripoli |url-status=live }}

Major contamination of Mali with UXO stems from the resurgence of conflict in 2012 Mali. Mines and IEDs were laid more heavily in the north of the country. The situation deteriorated in 2019; however, the extent of the contamination is unknown, as there has been no clear mapping of the country's minefields.{{Cite web |title=Impact {{!}} Reports {{!}} Monitor |url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2020/mali/impact.aspx |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=www.the-monitor.org |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406153544/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2020/mali/impact.aspx |url-status=live }}

Mine and UXO contamination stems from Mauritania's 1976–1978 war in the Western Sahara, while fighting against the Polisario front over the region. UXO is largely concentrated in the north of the country, around urban centres, where heavy fighting took place.{{Cite web |date=2018-11-29 |title=Mauritania declares itself landmine free nearly two decades after mine clearance began - Mauritania {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/mauritania/mauritania-declares-itself-landmine-free-nearly-two-decades-after-mine-clearance |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421231708/https://reliefweb.int/report/mauritania/mauritania-declares-itself-landmine-free-nearly-two-decades-after-mine-clearance |url-status=live }}

Following the urbanisation of 70% of the country's nomadic population, urban expansion has strayed into mine belts. As many of these nomads still follow pastoral practises, valuable livestock and people can stray into contact with mines. Despite this, people are unwilling to move due to the fact that Northern Mauritania is known as the best place to raise camels. It is also difficult to precisely mark mines, due to the fact that dunes can rapidly change their location.{{Cite web |last=El Hacen |first=AlIoune ould Mohamed |date=August 2006 |title=Mine action in Mauritania |url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1818&context=cisr-journal |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=Mine Acion |archive-date=13 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713231612/https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1818&context=cisr-journal |url-status=live }}

Although the country was declared mine free in 2018, Mauritania reported the discovery of previously unknown mined areas. As of 2023, an estimated {{Convert|11.52|km2|sqmi}} of Mauritania was contaminated with mines.{{Cite web |title=Mauritania {{!}} Mine Action Review |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/country/mauritania/anti-personnel-mines |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=www.mineactionreview.org |archive-date=4 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404202547/https://www.mineactionreview.org/country/mauritania/anti-personnel-mines |url-status=live }}

The contamination of Moroccan territory is a consequence of the conflict between the Royal Moroccan Army and the Polisario Front over the Western Sahara. The majority of the contamination is confined to the area around the Moroccan Western Sahara wall. All along the length of the wall (on the Eastern side) runs a minefield, sometimes claimed to be the world's longest continual minefield. During the 1975–1991 conflict, the Moroccan army used cluster munitions, and unexploded bomblets still kill and maim uneducated citizens to this day.{{Cite web |title=Morocco |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Morocco-Clearing-the-Mines-2018.pdf |access-date=2 April 2024 |website=Mine Action Review: Morocco |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402155924/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Morocco-Clearing-the-Mines-2018.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2011-05-17 |title=Killed in Western Sahara by a bomb shaped like a ball |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13413947 |access-date=2024-04-02 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=Moroccan Wall: The Longest Minefield in The World |url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/03/moroccan-wall-longest-minefield-in-world.html |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=www.amusingplanet.com |language=en |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402155923/https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/03/moroccan-wall-longest-minefield-in-world.html |url-status=live }}

Prior to the resumption of hostilities in November 2020, both the UN and the Moroccan army claimed to have destroyed tens of thousands of land mines, and cleared hundreds of square kilometres of land.{{Cite web |date=2016-11-03 |title=Mine Action |url=https://minurso.unmissions.org/mine-action |access-date=2024-04-02 |website=MINURSO |language=en |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402155924/https://minurso.unmissions.org/mine-action |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=28 February 2023 |title=Territory of the Western Sahara |url=https://www.unmas.org/en/programmes/westernsahara |access-date=2 April 2024 |website=UNMAS}}

In 2018 Niger reported a known contaminated area near Madama military base, totalling just over {{Convert|0.2|km2}}. Clearance of approximately {{Convert|18,000|m2}} took place up to March 2020, however no clearance is thought to have taken place since then. In 2023, Niger reported that there were just under 0.2 km² of contaminated areas near the Madama military base.

The spread of conflicts in the Lake Chad and Liptako-Gourma regions has contributed new UXO to the regions, with some insurgencies spreading to Niger. IEDs have seen increased use, some victim activated and some indiscriminate. Many of the mines used by insurgencies such as Boko Haram are used to target military convoys and vehicles, however inevitably there are civilian casualties. Between 2016 and the end of 2022, the National Commission for the Collection and Control of Illicit weapons reported 183 explosive ordnance incidents, killing 203 and wounding 204. 80% of the incidents occurred in the Tillabéri and Diffa regions.{{Cite web |title=Niger {{!}} Mine Action Review |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/country/niger/anti-personnel-mines |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=www.mineactionreview.org |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406192610/https://www.mineactionreview.org/country/niger/anti-personnel-mines |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Impact {{!}} Reports {{!}} Monitor |url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2021/niger/impact.aspx |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=www.the-monitor.org |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406192610/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2021/niger/impact.aspx |url-status=live }}

Sudan's mine contamination largely stems from its civil war and other wars since the country's independence from Britain. In 2005, a peace agreement between the rebel forces (mainly the Sudan People's Liberation Movement) and the government brought an end to fighting, and along with it mine laying. In 2009, the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported that across 16 Sudanese states, contamination totalled {{Convert|107|km2}}. Despite conflict breaking out in 2011, by early 2023 it was reported that only just over {{Convert|13|km2|abbr=on}} of Sudanese land was contaminated with mines, and slightly more contaminated with UXO.{{Cite web |title=Impact {{!}} Reports {{!}} Monitor |url=https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2021/sudan/impact.aspx |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.the-monitor.org |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422163020/https://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2021/sudan/impact.aspx |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=22 April 2024 |title=Clearing the Mines: Sudan |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Sudan_Clearing_the_Mines_2023.pdf |access-date=22 April 2024 |website=Clearing the Mines |archive-date=22 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422163020/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Sudan_Clearing_the_Mines_2023.pdf |url-status=live }}

In April 2023, heavy fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Forces, (RSF), a paramilitary organisation. The SAF alleges that the RSF has laid mines, but as of April 2024 no evidence has emerged to support that claim.

{{See also|Land mines in Central America}}

After World War II, much unused ordnance in Canada was dumped along the country's eastern and western coasts at sites selected by the Canadian military.{{Cite journal|last=Souchen|first=Alex|date=October 2, 2017|title=Under Fathoms of Salt Water:" Canada's Ammunition Dumping Program, 1944-1947|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1879&context=cmh|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=26|issue=2|archive-date=20 November 2018|access-date=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120172239/https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1879&context=cmh|url-status=live}} Other UXO in Canada is found on sites used by the Canadian military for operations, training and weapons tests.{{Cite web|url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=dnd-unexploded-explosive-ordnance-uxo-and-legacy-sites-program/hnps1tzd|title=Backgrounder {{!}} DND Unexploded Explosive Ordnance (UXO) and Legacy Sites Program|last=Government of Canada|first=National Defence|date=2007-05-25|website=www.forces.gc.ca|access-date=2019-07-28|archive-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925073610/http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=dnd-unexploded-explosive-ordnance-uxo-and-legacy-sites-program%2Fhnps1tzd|url-status=dead}} These sites are labeled under the "legacy sites" program created in 2005 to identify areas and quantify risk due to UXO. As of 2019, the Department of National Defence has confirmed 62 locations as legacy sites, with a further 774 sites in assessment.{{Cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/uxo/uxo-locations.html|title=Locations of UXO|last=Defence|first=National|date=2017-11-10|website=aem|access-date=2019-07-28}} There has been controversy because some lands appropriated by the military during World War II were owned by First Nations, such as {{convert|2,000|acres|km2|order=flip|0}} that make up Camp Ipperwash in Ontario, which was given with the understanding that the land would be given back at the end of the war.{{Cite web|url=https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/camp-ipperwash-returned-after-50-years|title=Camp Ipperwash returned after 50 years|website=Ammsa.com|language=en|access-date=2019-07-28|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716233552/https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/camp-ipperwash-returned-after-50-years|url-status=live}} These lands have required and still need extensive clean-up efforts due to the possible presence of UXO.

During the long Colombian conflict that began around 1964, a large number of landmines were deployed in rural areas across Colombia. The landmines are homemade and were placed primarily during the last 25 years of the conflict, hindering rural development significantly. The rebel groups of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the smaller ELN are usually blamed for having placed the mines. All departments of Colombia are affected, but Antioquia, where the city of Medellín is located, holds the largest amounts.{{cite news |url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/a-legacy-of-landmines-in-colombia/ |title=A Legacy of Land Mines in Colombia |author=Evelyn Nieves |newspaper=The New York Times |date=28 October 2015 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=17 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917172522/https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/a-legacy-of-landmines-in-colombia/ |url-status=live }} After Afghanistan, Colombia has the second-highest number of landmine casualties, with more than 11,500 people killed or injured by landmines since 1990, according to Colombian government figures.{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/colombia-aims-rid-country-landmines-by-year-twenty-twenty-one/3724700.html |title=Colombia Aims to Rid Country of Landmines by 2021 |agency=Reuters |publisher=VOA News |date=14 February 2017 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914081507/https://www.voanews.com/a/colombia-aims-rid-country-landmines-by-year-twenty-twenty-one/3724700.html |url-status=live }}

In September 2012, the Colombian peace process began officially in Havana and in August 2016, the US and Norway initiated an international five-year demining program, now supported by another 24 countries and the European Union.{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/fpi/showcases/demining-mountains-colombia_en|title=Demining the mountains in Colombia|publisher=European Commission - FPI|date=March 2017|access-date=30 October 2019}} Both the Colombian military and FARC are taking part in the demining efforts. The program intends to rid Colombia of landmines and other UXO by 2021 and it has been funded with nearly US$112 million, including US$33 million from the US (as part of the larger US foreign policy Plan Colombia) and US$20 million from Norway.{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/04/fact-sheet-peace-colombia-new-era-partnership-between-united-states-and|title=FACT SHEET: Peace Colombia -- A New Era of Partnership between the United States and Colombia|publisher=Obama White House Archives|date=4 February 2016|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=31 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831091806/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/04/fact-sheet-peace-colombia-new-era-partnership-between-united-states-and|url-status=live}} Experts however, have estimated that it will take at least a decade due to the difficult terrain.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/colombia/mine-action.aspx|title=Colombia|publisher=Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor|date=19 November 2018|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=1 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001100139/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2018/colombia/mine-action.aspx|url-status=dead}}

Unlike many countries in Europe and Asia, the United States has not been subjected to significant aerial bombardment. Nevertheless, according to the Department of Defense, "millions of acres" of US territory may contain UXO, discarded military munitions (DMM) and munitions constituents (e.g., explosive compounds).[https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/Library/Cleanup/CleanupOfc/index.html Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol (MRSPP) Primer]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} US Dept. of Defense, Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP), 230pp (16 MB) April 2007

According to United States Environmental Protection Agency documents released in late 2002, UXO at 16,000 domestic inactive military ranges within the United States pose an "imminent and substantial" public health risk and could require the largest environmental cleanup ever, at a cost of at least US$14 billion. Some individual ranges cover {{convert|500|sqmi|km2|-2|order=flip}}, and, taken together, the ranges comprise an area the size of Florida.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

On Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, decades of artillery training have contaminated the only drinking water for thousands of surrounding residents."EPA orders extensive cleanup of Mass. military reservation on Cape Cod," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency press release, 7 January 2000. See:

[https://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/14a427ecb6f2e0f78525745700672dd1!OpenDocument U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023020617/https://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/14a427ecb6f2e0f78525745700672dd1!OpenDocument |date=23 October 2017 }} A costly UXO recovery effort is under way.See:

• [http://jbcc-iagwsp.org/whats_new/jbcc_cleanup_update.pdf Joint Base Cape Cod: Cleanup Update 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023011904/http://jbcc-iagwsp.org/whats_new/jbcc_cleanup_update.pdf |date=23 October 2017 }}
• [https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/m2s2fy16-1_021116/slides/Topic-1-Final-CIA-Removal-Action.pdf Advanced Classification at Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC): UXO removal in the Central Impact Area (11 February 2015)]

UXO on US military bases has caused problems for transferring and restoring Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) land. The Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to commercialize former munitions testing grounds are complicated by UXO, making investments and development risky.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

The area around Fort St. Philip, Louisiana is also covered in UXO from the naval bombardment, and caution would be taken when visiting the ruins.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

UXO cleanup in the US involves over {{convert|10|e6acre|km2|order=flip|abbr=off}} of land and 1,400 different sites. Estimated cleanup costs are tens of billions of dollars. It costs roughly $1,000 to demolish a UXO on site. Other costs include surveying and mapping, removing vegetation from the site, transportation, and personnel to manually detect UXOs with metal detectors. Searching for UXOs is tedious work and often 100 holes are dug to every 1 UXO found. Other methods of finding UXOs include digital geophysics detection with land and airborne systems.[https://www.denix.osd.mil/mmrp/upload/uxo.pdf Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Unexploded Ordnance] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053308/https://www.denix.osd.mil/mmrp/upload/uxo.pdf |date=4 March 2016}} Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, 150pp (4.5MB) December 2003

In December 2007, UXO was discovered in new development areas outside Orlando, Florida, and construction had to be halted.{{cite web |url=http://www.local6.com/news/14793135/detail.html |title=Construction Halted After Buried Bombs Found |work=Click Orlando |publisher=WKMG |date=6 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515200944/http://www.clickorlando.com/news/14793135/detail.html |archive-date=15 May 2010}}

In 1917, in response to other nations' extensive use of chemical weapons in World War I, the US Army Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) opened a weapons research laboratory and production facility at American University in Washington, D.C.{{cite web|last=Carignan|first=Sylvia|url=http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/1918-army-creates-hell-fire-battalion-to-test-deadly-weapons-at-camp-au/|title=1918: Army creates 'Hell Fire Battalion' to test deadly weapons at Camp AU|work=The Eagle|publisher=American University|access-date=30 March 2022|archive-date=16 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116052424/http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/1918-army-creates-hell-fire-battalion-to-test-deadly-weapons-at-camp-au/|url-status=dead}} CWS troops at the station routinely fired incendiary and chemical projectiles into a nearby undeveloped area that became known as "No Man's Land". When the station was deactivated after the war in 1919, UXO in No Man's Land was abandoned there, and unused projectiles and toxic chemicals were buried in deep, poorly mapped pits. Collegiate athletic fields, businesses and homes were subsequently built in the area.{{cite web|last=Carignan|first=Sylvia|url=http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/1919-army-operations-leave-behind-toxic-reminders-of-war/|title=1919: Army operations leave behind toxic reminders of war|work=The Eagle|publisher=American University|access-date=20 July 2013|archive-date=16 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116052408/http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/1919-army-operations-leave-behind-toxic-reminders-of-war/|url-status=dead}} Chemical UXO continues to be periodically found on and near campus, and in 2001, the USACE began cleanup efforts after arsenic was found in soil at the athletic fields. In 2017, the USACE was cautiously excavating a university-owned property in an adjacent neighborhood where investigators believed that a large unmapped cache of mustard gas projectiles was buried.{{cite news|last=James|first=Owain|title=What we know about the ongoing cleanup projects on AU property|url=https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2017/10/what-we-know-about-the-ongoing-cleanup-projects-on-au-property|work=The Eagle|publisher=American University|date=25 October 2017|access-date=30 March 2022}}

Although comparatively rare, unexploded ordnance from the American Civil War is still occasionally found and is still deadly over 150 years later. Union and Confederate troops fired an estimated 1.5 million artillery shells at each other from 1861 to 1865. As many as one in five did not explode.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/virginia-man-killed-in-civil-war-cannonball-blast|title=Virginia Man Killed In Civil War Cannonball Blast|date=2 May 2008|publisher=Fox News|access-date=20 April 2018|archive-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117063201/https://www.foxnews.com/story/virginia-man-killed-in-civil-war-cannonball-blast|url-status=live}} In 1973, during the restoration of Weston Manor, an 18th-century plantation house in Hopewell, Virginia, that was shelled by Union gunboats during the Civil War, a live shell was found embedded in the dining room ceiling. The ball was disarmed and is shown to visitors to the plantation.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Hi4jAAAAIBAJ&pg=6829,21042|work=Herald-Journal|title=Civil War cannon ball drops from tree near battlefield|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108045103/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Hi4jAAAAIBAJ&pg=6829,21042|url-status=live}} In late March 2008, a {{convert|44|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|8|in|cm|adj=on|order=flip}} mortar shell was uncovered at the Petersburg National Battlefield, the site of a 292-day siege. The shell was taken to the city landfill where it was safely detonated by ordnance disposal experts. Also in 2008, a Civil War enthusiast was killed in the explosion of a {{convert|9|in|cm|adj=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|75|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} naval shell he was attempting to disarm in the driveway of his home near Richmond, Virginia. The explosion sent a chunk of shrapnel crashing into a house {{convert|1/4|mi|m|spell=in|order=flip}} away.

According to Alaska State Troopers, an unexploded aerial bomb, found at a home off Warner Road, was safely detonated by Fort Wainwright soldiers on September 19, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Unexploded-aerial-bomb-detonated-by-Fort-Wainwright-soldiers-561005241.html|title=Unexploded aerial bomb detonated by Fort Wainwright soldiers|agency=Associated Press|website=www.ktuu.com|date=22 September 2019|language=en|access-date=2019-09-22|archive-date=22 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922140257/https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Unexploded-aerial-bomb-detonated-by-Fort-Wainwright-soldiers-561005241.html|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Sky Research}}

File:Unexploded Ordnance Disposal in Ariake, Tokyo, on June 5, 2019 P6059186.jpg

Thousands of tons of UXO remains buried across Japan, particularly in Okinawa, where over 200,000 tons of ordnance were dropped during the final year of World War II. From 1945 until the end of the U.S. occupation of the island in 1972, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and the US military disposed of 5,500 tons of UXO. Over 30,000 UXO disposal operations have been conducted on Okinawa by the JSDF since 1972, and it is estimated it could take close to a century to dispose of the remaining unexploded munitions on the islands. No injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of UXO disposal, however.{{cite web|last1=Allen|first1=David|last2=Sumida|first2=Chiyomi|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/more-unexploded-wwii-ordnance-disposed-of-on-okinawa-1.86130|title=More unexploded WWII ordnance disposed of on Okinawa|work=Stars and Stripes|date=13 December 2008|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=13 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713234924/http://www.stripes.com/news/more-unexploded-wwii-ordnance-disposed-of-on-okinawa-1.86130|url-status=live}} Tokyo and other major cities, including Kobe, Yokohama and Fukuoka, were targeted by several massive air raids during World War II, which left behind large amounts of UXO. Shells from Imperial Army and Imperial Navy guns also continue to be discovered.{{Cite web |title=Japanese soldiers defuse, remove 2,000-pound US-made bomb from construction site |url=https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2023-02-09/unexploded-bomb-world-war-ii-japan-9084329.html |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Stars and Stripes |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404120224/https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2023-02-09/unexploded-bomb-world-war-ii-japan-9084329.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Yoonji |title=The WWII Tokyo firebombing was the deadliest air raid in history, with a death toll exceeding those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-firebombing-air-raid-world-war-ii-history-japan-2023-12 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=4 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404120223/https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-firebombing-air-raid-world-war-ii-history-japan-2023-12 |url-status=live }}

On 29 October 2012, an unexploded {{convert|250|kg|lb|adj=on}} US bomb with a functioning detonator was discovered near a runway at Sendai Airport during reconstruction following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, resulting in the airport being closed and all flights cancelled.{{cite news|url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201210300022|title=Sendai airport closed after WWII bomb found|work=AJW by The Asahi Shimbun|agency=Associated Press|date=30 October 2012|access-date=2 March 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224011809/http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201210300022|archive-date=24 February 2015|df=dmy-all}} The airport reopened the next day after the bomb was safely contained, but closed again on 14 November while the bomb was defused and safely removed.{{cite web|last=Westlake|first=Adam|url=http://japandailypress.com/unexploded-wwii-bomb-removed-from-sendai-airport-for-disposal-1418365/|title=Unexploded WWII bomb removed from Sendai Airport for disposal|work=The Japan Daily Press|date=14 November 2012|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224013246/http://japandailypress.com/unexploded-wwii-bomb-removed-from-sendai-airport-for-disposal-1418365/|archive-date=24 February 2015|url-status=usurped|df=dmy-all}}

In March 2013, an unexploded Imperial Army anti-aircraft shell measuring {{convert|40|cm|in}} long was discovered at a construction site in Tokyo's Kita Ward, close to the Kaminakazato Station on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line. The shell was detonated in place by a JGSDF UXO disposal squad in June, causing 150 scheduled rail and Shinkansen services to be halted for three hours and affecting 90,000 commuters.{{cite web|last=Kameda|first=Masaaki|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/04/national/tokyo-trains-halt-while-gsdf-blows-up-old-shell/|title=Tokyo trains halt while GSDF blows up old shell|work=Japan Times|date=4 June 2013|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224013340/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/04/national/tokyo-trains-halt-while-gsdf-blows-up-old-shell/|url-status=live}} In July, an unexploded {{convert|1000|kg|lb|adj=on}} US bomb from an air raid was discovered near the Akabane Station in the Kita Ward and defused on site by the JGSDF in November, resulting in the evacuation of 3,000 households nearby and causing several trains to be halted for an hour while the bomb was being defused.{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/17/national/dud-shell-disrupts-tokyo-train-runs/|title=Dud shell disrupts Tokyo train runs|work=Japan Times|date=17 November 2013|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224015329/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/17/national/dud-shell-disrupts-tokyo-train-runs/|url-status=dead}}

On 13 April 2014, the JGSDF defused and removed an unexploded {{convert|250|kg|lb|adj=on}} US oil incendiary bomb discovered at a construction site in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, which required the evacuation of 740 people living nearby.{{cite web|url=http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/f_chikugo/article/82155 |title=厳戒の中、不発弾撤去 久留米市 [福岡県] |trans-title=Removal of UXO in Kurume (Fukuoka Prefecture) conducted under strict supervision |date=15 April 2014 |language=ja |publisher=nishinippon.co.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415141532/http://nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/f_chikugo/article/82155 |archive-date=15 April 2014}}

On 16 March 2015, a {{convert|2000|lb|kg|adj=on}} bomb was found in central Osaka.{{cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-03-17/unexploded-1-ton-bomb-found-near-osaka-otaroad/.86052 |title=Unexploded 1-Ton Bomb Found Near Osaka's Otaroad |publisher=Anime News Network |date=17 March 2015 |access-date=17 March 2015 |archive-date=20 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520181926/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-03-17/unexploded-1-ton-bomb-found-near-osaka-otaroad/.86052 |url-status=live }}

In December 2019, 100 buildings were evacuated to remove a {{convert|500|lb|kg|adj=on}} World War II bomb found on Okinawa's Camp Kinser.{{cite web|url=https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/12/13/more-than-100-buildings-to-be-evacuated-on-okinawas-camp-kinser-to-remove-500-pound-wwii-bomb/|title=More than 100 buildings to be evacuated on Okinawa's Camp Kinser to remove 500 pound WWII bomb|website=Marine Corps Times|date=13 December 2019|access-date=14 December 2019|archive-date=14 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214155127/https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/12/13/more-than-100-buildings-to-be-evacuated-on-okinawas-camp-kinser-to-remove-500-pound-wwii-bomb/|url-status=live}}

On 2 October 2024, more than 80 flights were cancelled at Miyazaki Airport after a previously unknown {{convert|500|lb|kg|adj=on}} World War II bomb detonated under a taxiway, leaving a substantial crater. No aircraft were nearby and no injuries were reported. Officials launched an investigation into what caused the bomb to suddenly explode.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/02/buried-us-second-world-war-bomb-explodes-at-japanese-miyazaki-airport |title=Buried US second world war bomb explodes at Japanese airport |work=The Guardian |date=2 October 2024 }}

Tosa Maidan, a scenic meadow in the Budgam district of Indian-administered Kashmir, was used as a military firing range by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force from 1964 to 2014. Decades of artillery exercises left the area littered with UXO, resulting in civilian casualties. Official records attribute at least 63 deaths and over 150 injuries to UXO explosions, though local reports suggest higher figures. In 2014, after significant public protests, the government declined to renew the military’s lease. The Indian Army subsequently initiated "Operation Falah" to clear the area of unexploded ordnance. Despite these efforts, sporadic explosions continue to pose risks, leading to ongoing demands for thorough demining and compensation for affected families.{{Cite web |title=In Pictures: Kashmir's Meadow of Death |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2014/11/16/in-pictures-kashmirs-meadow-of-death |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=migrator |date=2020-05-29 |title=Destroy un-exploded Ammunition in Tosamaidan |url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/opinion/destroy-un-exploded-ammunition-in-tosamaidan/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Greater Kashmir |language=en-US |archive-date=26 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126031908/https://www.greaterkashmir.com/opinion/destroy-un-exploded-ammunition-in-tosamaidan/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2018-06-25 |title=Tosa Maidan Liberation & Conservation Struggle: A successful struggle of Non-violent & Democratic means in Kashmir |url=https://vikalpsangam.org/article/tosamaidan-liberation-conservation-struggle-a-successful-struggle-of-non-violent-democratic-means-in-kashmir/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Vikalp Sangam |language=en |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810202706/https://vikalpsangam.org/article/tosamaidan-liberation-conservation-struggle-a-successful-struggle-of-non-violent-democratic-means-in-kashmir/ |url-status=live }}

File:Demining in Afghanistan.jpg

According to The Guardian, since 2001, the coalition forces dropped about 20,000 tonnes of ammunition over Afghanistan with an estimated 10% of munitions not detonated according to some experts.{{Cite web|date=2015-01-29|title=Afghans live in peril among unexploded Nato bombs that litter countryside|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/29/afghans-lives-in-peril-unexploded-bombs|access-date=2021-02-12|website=The Guardian|language=en}} Many valleys, fields and dry riverbeds in Macca have been used by foreign soldiers as firing ranges, leaving them peppered with undetonated ammunition. Despite the removal of 16.5 million items since mine-clearing programmes were established in 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal, Macca and its predecessors have recorded 22,000 casualties in the same period.

According to The HALO Trust, following the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009, over 1,600,000 landmines were left in the country. Since 2009 over 270,000 landmines have been safely destroyed and 280,000 people have been able to return to their homes. Following the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, Sri Lanka has committed to clearing all known landmines by 2028.{{Cite web |title=20 Years making Sri Lankans safe |url=https://www.halousa.org/latest/halo-updates/news/20-years-in-sri-lanka/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=The HALO Trust USA |language=en |archive-date=27 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627020455/https://www.halousa.org/latest/halo-updates/news/20-years-in-sri-lanka/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Sri Lanka |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/walkearth/2016/264003.htm |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=2 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402192139/https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/pm/rls/rpt/walkearth/2016/264003.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Excerpt|Land mines in Cambodia}}

File:BLU-26 cluster sub-munition.JPG "bombie" in Laos]]

File:Xépôn bomb.jpg

Laos is considered the world's most heavily bombed nation per capita. During the period of the Laotian Civil War and Vietnam War, over half a million American bombing missions dropped more than 2 million tons{{cite web|url=http://www.stephenmbland.com/#!meet-the-laotians-clearing-their-country/c1miw|title=StephenMBland|website=StephenMBland|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-date=26 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126132658/http://www.stephenmbland.com/#!meet-the-laotians-clearing-their-country/c1miw|url-status=live}} of ordnance on Laos, most of it anti-personnel cluster bombs.{{cite web|url=http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/|title=Secret War in Laos|publisher=Legacies of War|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427161029/http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/|url-status=live}} Each cluster bomb shell contained hundreds of individual bomblets, "bombies", about the size of a tennis ball. An estimated 30% of these munitions did not detonate. Some 288 million cluster munitions and about 75 million unexploded bombs were left across Laos after the war ended. Estimates are that present rate of defining will require nearly 100 years to clear. Around 30% of Laos is considered heavily contaminated with UXOs and ten of the eighteen Laotian provinces have been described as "severely contaminated" with artillery and mortar shells, mines, rockets, grenades, and other devices from various countries of origin. These munitions pose a continuing obstacle to agriculture and a special threat to children, who are attracted by the toylike devices.{{Cite web|title=Cluster Munitions|url=http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/cluster-munitions/|access-date=2020-09-21|website=Legacies of War|language=en-US|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112004721/http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/cluster-munitions/|url-status=dead}}

From 1996 to 2009, more than 1 million items of UXO were destroyed, freeing up 23,000 hectares of land. Between 1999 and 2008, there were 2,184 casualties (including 834 deaths) from UXO incidents.{{cite web|url=http://www.maginternational.org/where-mag-works/laos/|title=Laos|work=MAG (Mines Advisory Group)|access-date=2 March 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210173156/http://www.maginternational.org/where-mag-works/laos/|archive-date=10 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/leftover-unexploded-ordnances-uxo/|title=Leftover Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)|publisher=Legacies of War|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=23 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423094947/http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/leftover-unexploded-ordnances-uxo/|url-status=dead}} Since the end of the conflict in 1975, unexploded ordnance, mostly from US bombing, has killed or injured over 25,000 people, half of them being children.{{Cite news |last1=Newey |first1=Sarah |last2=Taylor |first2=Jack |date=2023-12-01 |title=The invisible killer haunting Laos 50 years after the Vietnam War |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/laos-unexploded-ordnance-landmines-vietnam-war-henry-kissinger/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=14 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241014205647/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/laos-unexploded-ordnance-landmines-vietnam-war-henry-kissinger/ |url-status=live }}

UXOs continue to be a contentious issue as it has impeded infrastructure development and railway construction within the nation, including the Boten–Vientiane railway which required clearing thousands of hectares for UXO and shrapnel.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-14 |title=Beijing clears US bombs before constructing China-Laos railway |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2338716/beijing-clears-us-bombs-before-constructing-china-laos-railway |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en |archive-date=10 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710112450/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2338716/beijing-clears-us-bombs-before-constructing-china-laos-railway |url-status=live }}

In Vietnam, 800,000 tons of landmines and unexploded ordnance is buried in the land and mountains. From 1975 to 2015, up to 100,000 people have been injured or killed by bombs left over from the second Indochina war.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-06 |title=Nearly 500,000 hectares of land cleared of UXOs - Viet Nam {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/viet-nam/nearly-500000-hectares-land-cleared-uxos |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en |archive-date=8 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908170348/https://reliefweb.int/report/viet-nam/nearly-500000-hectares-land-cleared-uxos |url-status=live }} Nearly one-fifth of the land is contaminated by UXOs.

At present, all 63 provinces and cities are contaminated with UXO and landmines. However, it is possible to prioritize demining for the Northern border provinces of Lang Son, Ha Giang and the six Central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien and Quang Ngai. Particularly in these 6 central provinces, up to 2010, there were 22,760 victims of landmines and UXO, of which 10,529 died and 12,231 were injured.{{cite web |url=http://baochinhphu.vn/Gop-suc-khac-phuc-hau-qua-bom-min-sau-chien-tranh/Chuong-trinh-quoc-gia-khac-phuc-hau-qua-bom-min-sau-chien-tranh/103953.vgp |title=Góp sức khắc phục hậu quả bom mìn sau chiến tranh |publisher=Vietnam Government Information Portal |date=2010-04-23 |access-date=2015-11-20 |language=vi |archive-date=16 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201542/http://baochinhphu.vn/Gop-suc-khac-phuc-hau-qua-bom-min-sau-chien-tranh/Chuong-trinh-quoc-gia-khac-phuc-hau-qua-bom-min-sau-chien-tranh/103953.vgp |url-status=live }}

One of the most heavily contaminated province, Quảng Trị, has seen at least 3500 deaths since the end of the war and ongoing efforts will require over a decade to clear.{{Cite web |last=Humphrey |first=Chris |title=50 years since US troops left Vietnam, bombs continue to kill |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/26/50-years-after-the-vietnam-war-ended-its-bombs-continue-to-kill |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=15 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241015041008/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/26/50-years-after-the-vietnam-war-ended-its-bombs-continue-to-kill |url-status=live }}

"The National Action Plan for the Prevention and Fighting of Unexploded Ordnance and Mines from 2010 to 2025" has been prepared and promulgated by the Vietnamese Government in April 2010.{{cite web |url=http://mod.gov.vn/wps/portal/!ut/p/b1/vZPLkqIwFIafZR7AIhAVWAa5K_cQLhsKhUEQQRoF5Olbp7pm17qZ6WSVqi_1nfOfOlRMhVTcpENZpNeybdL6-Y7XiYxMlxNoBDiVXgMNquKaEA8qGnwA0QPYKEhdsjsAuJ2yAhpSfZd3IAQIvvsfUCE5jJPYGqMoiS6AHlCVEmXWKOSFGEXVFZWFLvT4mGw5vOHtIKhGwxqUj0D5Pdh6wWN765qt5Jg67YUdfMqboShD21qHm3LgMV9bjm9tQXPTWkbOTBsv2etVnLpR2heFVWYtDg5lsMj6aD_evAU7LQwrroev3sA3B4H3vcUvEYf-Al7F9wd4UUP0ANhvFYihMBWCZeJV94s2n2a3mh1g-u1snjgGYGJfK0xMvzavmWB6lb4Dsz97ODY87N0NqQCeubMz4voC2nRE2RpvhA74YeEjo_8sVCxVBpqO9ZVnOQxw4E9H-u9nqFNxUbf7x4ITErXsc_skFNrOh1IzKT0fE0-aK04WlNt-gRqRJbJzrp1ZG4Gd6B3iSnRMU0j3vJ3Hd3-VSQy5qNNdQ6dAPue6Li6bCTn5fm7QmBgsUXog0GYziTe0OuSjwh4-kr7v46w7kILPIU1D5Hd8Lxu_KFNtzzl1OfvDbu2qc_j35p8e-20L/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ |title=Chương trình hành động quốc gia khắc phục hậu quả bom, mìn sau chiến tranh giai đoạn 2010 - 2025 |publisher=Department of Defense of Vietnam |access-date=2015-11-20 |language=vi |archive-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704184031/http://www.mod.gov.vn/wps/portal/!ut/p/b1/vZPLkqIwFIafZR7AIhAVWAa5K_cQLhsKhUEQQRoF5Olbp7pm17qZ6WSVqi_1nfOfOlRMhVTcpENZpNeybdL6-Y7XiYxMlxNoBDiVXgMNquKaEA8qGnwA0QPYKEhdsjsAuJ2yAhpSfZd3IAQIvvsfUCE5jJPYGqMoiS6AHlCVEmXWKOSFGEXVFZWFLvT4mGw5vOHtIKhGwxqUj0D5Pdh6wWN765qt5Jg67YUdfMqboShD21qHm3LgMV9bjm9tQXPTWkbOTBsv2etVnLpR2heFVWYtDg5lsMj6aD_evAU7LQwrroev3sA3B4H3vcUvEYf-Al7F9wd4UUP0ANhvFYihMBWCZeJV94s2n2a3mh1g-u1snjgGYGJfK0xMvzavmWB6lb4Dsz97ODY87N0NqQCeubMz4voC2nRE2RpvhA74YeEjo_8sVCxVBpqO9ZVnOQxw4E9H-u9nqFNxUbf7x4ITErXsc_skFNrOh1IzKT0fE0-aK04WlNt-gRqRJbJzrp1ZG4Gd6B3iSnRMU0j3vJ3Hd3-VSQy5qNNdQ6dAPue6Li6bCTn5fm7QmBgsUXog0GYziTe0OuSjwh4-kr7v46w7kILPIU1D5Hd8Lxu_KFNtzzl1OfvDbu2qc_j35p8e-20L/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/ |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Land mine situation in Nagorno-Karabakh|Landmines in Israel}}

File:Irakian corroded shell.jpg shell dating from the Gulf War (1990–1991)]]

Iraq is widely contaminated with unexploded remnants of war from the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the Gulf War (1990–1991), the Iraq War (2003–2011) and the Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017). The UXO in Iraq poses a particularly serious threat to civilians as millions of cluster bomb munitions were dropped in towns and densely populated areas by Coalition forces, mostly in the first few weeks of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. An estimated 30% of the munitions failed to detonate on impact and small unexploded bombs are regularly found in and around homes in Iraq, frequently maiming or killing civilians and restricting land use.{{cite web|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-12-31/devastating-legacy-unexploded-us-ordnance-iraq |title=The devastating legacy of unexploded US ordnance in Iraq |publisher=Public Radio International (PRI)|date=31 December 2014 |access-date=13 September 2017}} From 1991 to 2009, an estimated 8,000 people were killed or maimed by cluster bomblets alone, 2,000 of which were children. Land mines are another part of the UXO problem in Iraq as they litter large areas of farmland and many oil fields, severely affecting economic recovery and development.{{cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/landmine-clearance-boost-iraqi-economy |title=Landmine clearance critical to boost Iraqi economy |publisher=UNDP |date=Apr 6, 2009 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=17 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717100206/https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/landmine-clearance-boost-iraqi-economy |url-status=live }}

Reporting and monitoring is lacking in Iraq and no completely reliable survey and overview of the local threat levels exists. Useful statistics on injuries and deaths caused by UXO are also missing; only singular local reports exist. UNDP and UNICEF however, issued a partial survey report in 2009, concluding that the entire country is contaminated and more than 1.6 million Iraqis are affected by UXO. More than {{Convert|1,730|km2|abbr=in}} in total are saturated with unexploded ordnance (including land mines). The south-east region and Baghdad are the most heavily contaminated areas and UNDP has designated around 4,000 communities as "hazard areas".{{cite report|url=http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/8EB360688B867BBC492575E60022B140-Full_Report.pdf|title=Overview of landmines and explosive remnants of war in Iraq|publisher=UNDP and UNICEF|date=June 2009|access-date=13 September 2017|archive-date=13 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091518/http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/8EB360688B867BBC492575E60022B140-Full_Report.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.uniraq.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1470:landmines-and-unexploded-ordnances-factsheet-in-iraq&Itemid=626&lang=en |title=Landmines and Unexploded Ordnances Factsheet in Iraq |publisher=United Nations Iraq |date=17 April 2013 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044422/http://www.uniraq.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1470:landmines-and-unexploded-ordnances-factsheet-in-iraq&Itemid=626&lang=en |url-status=live }}

File:RGD5 b.jpg hand grenade (live but unfuzed) in Northern Kuwait dating from 1991]]The government of Kuwait has launched the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program, a set of deals of the scale of US$3 billion to promote, among other initiatives, the clearance of unexploded ordnance remaining from the First Gulf War.{{Cite web |title=Kuwait seeks contractor to clear unexploded bombs |url=https://www.meed.com/kuwait-seeks-contractor-to-clear-unexploded-bombs |date=2016-02-02 |website=MEED |language=en |access-date=2020-05-01}}{{Cite web |title=Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP): Bioremediation in South East Kuwait – Continuing Education for Science & Engineering (CESE) |url=https://cese.utulsa.edu/kuwait-environmental-remediation-program-kerp-bioremediation-south-east-kuwait/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=cese.utulsa.edu |archive-date=1 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901020443/https://cese.utulsa.edu/kuwait-environmental-remediation-program-kerp-bioremediation-south-east-kuwait/ |url-status=live }}

Kuwait has{{When|date=December 2024}} the largest amount of landmines per square mile in the world. Following the start of UXO removal, an estimated 1,486 casualties have occurred.{{Cite web |title=Kuwait - Safelane operations |url=https://www.safelaneglobal.com/experience/kuwait#:~:text=Unfortunately,%20this%20land%20was%20contaminated,successfully%20completed%20in%20January%202021. |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=SafeLane Global |language=en-GB |archive-date=24 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924165610/https://www.safelaneglobal.com/experience/kuwait#:~:text=Unfortunately,%20this%20land%20was%20contaminated,successfully%20completed%20in%20January%202021. |url-status=live }}

There are numerous mines, bombs and other explosives left from the Persian Gulf war, which makes a simple U-turn on a dirt road a life-threatening maneuver, unless performed entirely in an area covered by fresh tire tracks. Risking walking or driving in unknown areas puts oneself in danger of detonating those forgotten explosives.

In Kuwait City, there are some signs that warn people to keep distance from the broad and gleaming beaches, for example. Although, even the experts still have trouble. According to a New York Times article: Several Saudi soldiers involved in mine clearing have been killed or wounded. Two were hurt while demonstrating mine clearing for reporters.{{Cite news |last=Wald |first=Matthew L. |date=1991-05-12 |title=AFTER THE WAR; Mines and Old Bombs Are Still a Threat in Kuwait |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/12/world/after-the-war-mines-and-old-bombs-are-still-a-threat-in-kuwait.html |access-date=2020-05-01 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302013433/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/12/world/after-the-war-mines-and-old-bombs-are-still-a-threat-in-kuwait.html |url-status=live }}

Weeks right after the Gulf, hospitals in Kuwait reported that mines did not appear to be a major cause of injury. Six weeks after the Iraqi retreat, at Ahmadi Hospital, in an area thick with cluster bombs and Iraqi mines, the only injury was a hospital employee who had picked up an anti-personnel bomb as a souvenir.

Lebanon was initially contaminated by mines during its civil war, with both sides laying mines in the conflict. During several Israeli invasions of South Lebanon, up to 400,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were laid along the Blue line, the 75 mile long demarcation line drawn up by the UN to mark the withdrawal of Israeli forces.{{Cite web |date=29 March 2024 |title=Clearing the Mines: Lebanon |url=https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Lebanon_Clearing_the_Mines_2023.pdf |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=Mine action review |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329182103/https://www.mineactionreview.org/assets/downloads/Lebanon_Clearing_the_Mines_2023.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2022-12-27 |title=One careful step at a time through Lebanon's minefields |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63949280 |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329182101/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63949280 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Serrano|first=Francisco |date=2024-04-02 |title=Lebanon Is Still Littered With Land Mines |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/17/lebanon-demining-blue-line-israel-hezbollah/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}

In 2014, fighting from the Syrian civil war spilled over into Lebanon when members of the Al-Nusra Front militant group attacked the town of Arsal, after one of their leaders was arrested. Fighting ensued for several days, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were left behind when the militants retreated. In 2015, the al-Nusra front attacked and seized some Israeli territory, and it took until 2017 for the LBF to fully dislodge them. They left behind IEDs to harm civilians, but these were fully cleared by 2023.{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Josh |date=2015-06-11 |title=Hizbollah declares war on ISIL |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/hizbollah-declares-war-on-isil-1.105074 |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=The National |language=en |archive-date=2 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102024943/http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/hizbollah-declares-war-on-isil |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - Lebanon |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2015/en/105525 |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=Refworld |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240331170427/https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2015/en/105525 |url-status=live }}

During the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces used large amounts of cluster weapons. For the majority of the war, they were used to target Hezbollah rocket launch points after they were detected by radar. Civilian casualties were reasonably low at this time, as many civilians had fled or were sheltering in basement.{{Cite web |title=Flooding South Lebanon: Israel's Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006: The Impact of Israel's Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006 |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/lebanon0208/6.htm |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=www.hrw.org |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406150645/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/lebanon0208/6.htm |url-status=live }} During the conflict, four million subminitions are estimated to have been dropped on South Lebanon.

However, during the final 72 hours of this war, before the ceasefire, both Hezbollah and Israeli rates of fire greatly increased. It is estimated that 90% cluster bombs used during the war were used in this time. Large areas were affected. It is thought that the Israeli bomblets have a failure rate of about 40%, which is much higher compared to other weapons. For this reason, hundreds of thousands of bomblets still litter the Israeli countryside, killing and maiming people every year.{{cite news|last=Slackman|first=Michael|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/world/middleeast/06cluster.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin|title=Israeli Bomblets Plague Lebanon|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 October 2006|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=18 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018223317/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/world/middleeast/06cluster.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Shadid|first=Anthony|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501500.html|title=In Lebanon, a War's Lethal Harvest|newspaper=Washington Post|date=26 September 2006|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025014221/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501500.html|url-status=live}} This is also the case for the borderland in South Lebanon as Khayyat argues, where the areas in which south Lebanese farmers work and herd their sheep are filled with ordinances and mines left from both the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon and the 2006 Lebanon War.{{Cite book |last=Khayyat |first=Munira |title=A landscape of war: ecologies of resistance and survival in South Lebanon |date=2022 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-38999-1 |location=Oakland, California |pages=131}} This leaves the farmers to need to adapt to the bomb-filled environment as post-war efforts to remove unexploded ordinances and mines by international humanitarian organisations has arguably faltered out with time.{{Cite book |last=Khayyat |first=Munira |title=A landscape of war: ecologies of resistance and survival in South Lebanon |date=2022 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-38998-4 |location=Oakland, California |pages=134}}

Since the start of the Yemeni Civil War, the country has been plagued with unexploded munitions. In 2022 alone, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre (YEMAC), and Yemen Mine Action Co-ordination Centre (Y-MACC) destroyed or removed 81,000 explosive devices, including 9,054 anti-vehicle landmines, 861 anti-personnel landmines, and 3,149 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which in turn significantly reduced the risk of death or injury from IEDs over {{Convert|6500000|sqmi|km2}}.{{Cite web |title=Yemen's Landmines: Involuntary Displacement and Untold Suffering |url=https://www.undp.org/yemen/stories/yemens-landmines-involuntary-displacement-and-untold-suffering |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=UNDP |language=en |archive-date=11 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211200223/https://www.undp.org/yemen/stories/yemens-landmines-involuntary-displacement-and-untold-suffering |url-status=live }}

{{See also|World War II bomb disposal in Europe|Land mine situation in Chechnya}}

Despite massive demining efforts, Europe is still affected by UXO from mainly World War I and World War II, some countries more than others. However, more recent military conflicts have also affected some areas severely, in particular Ukraine and the western Balkans. After WWII, large quantities of unexploded ordnance were disposed of primarily in the Baltic Sea and North Sea, as well as other lakes and rivers to a smaller extent. These submerged munitions still represent a major threat to fishers and marine wildlife.{{Cn|date=December 2024}}

Unexploded ordnance from World War II in Austria is blown up twice a year in the military training area near Allentsteig. Moreover, explosives are still being recovered from lakes, rivers and mountains dating back to World War I on the Italian Front between Austria-Hungary and Italy.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.at/20180426/austria|title=Austria blows up tonnes of explosives from both world wars|work=The Local|date=26 April 2018|access-date=8 February 2019|archive-date=27 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427004236/https://www.thelocal.at/20180426/austria|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Land mine contamination in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Minefields in Croatia}}As a result of the Yugoslav Wars (1991–2001), the countries of Albania,{{cite web |url=http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/2002/albania.html |title=albania |publisher=Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091718/http://archives.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/2002/albania.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2011/02/16/albanians-stranded-by-landmines-to-restart-lives-.html |title=Albanians stranded by landmines to restart lives |publisher=UNDP |date=16 February 2016 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913092637/http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/articles/2011/02/16/albanians-stranded-by-landmines-to-restart-lives-.html |url-status=dead }} Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo have all been affected by UXOs, mostly land mines in regions where intense fighting took place. Due to the lack of awareness of these post-war landmines, civilian casualties have risen since the end of the wars. As many as 2,000 people have been killed by these landmines alone, with countless others dying due to different unexploded munitions. {{Cite web |author-first1=Igor|author-last1=Spaic|title=Bosnia 'Failing to Meet Landmine Removal Target' |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/04/04/bosnian-citizens-still-endangered-by-landmines-04-03-2017-1/ |url-status=live |website=Balkan Insight |access-date=26 November 2024 |archive-date=25 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525222458/https://balkaninsight.com/2017/04/04/bosnian-citizens-still-endangered-by-landmines-04-03-2017-1/ }} Many efforts made by peacekeeping forces in Bosnia such as IFOR, SFOR (and its successor EUFOR ALTHEA), and in Kosovo with KFOR in order to contain these landmines have been met with some difficulty. Landslides caused by heavy rainfall and flooding have led to migration of landmines, further complicating efforts.{{Cite journal |last1=Baselt |first1=Ivo |last2=Skejic |first2=Adis |last3=Zindovic |first3=Budo |last4=Bender |first4=Jens |date=2023-06-06 |title=Geologically-Driven Migration of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War—A Feature Focusing on the Western Balkans |journal=Geosciences |language=en |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=178 |doi=10.3390/geosciences13060178 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023Geosc..13..178B |issn=2076-3263}}

The Federal Civil Protection Administration (FUCZ) team deactivated and destroyed four World War II bombs found at a construction site in the centre of Sarajevo in September 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarajevotimes.com/fucz-team-destroyed-four-world-war-ii-bombs-found-in-centre-of-sarajevo-video/|title=FUCZ Team destroyed Four World War II Bombs found in Centre of Sarajevo (video)|date=2019-09-13|website=Sarajevo Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-14|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929065038/https://www.sarajevotimes.com/fucz-team-destroyed-four-world-war-ii-bombs-found-in-centre-of-sarajevo-video/|url-status=live}}

In November 2023, a US-funded project cleared over 395 acres of mined land in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina's sixth-largest city, and declared the area mine-free. As of September 2023, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Mine Action Center estimates that over 200,000 acres in the country are still hazardous in contrast to the over 1 million acres considered unsafe in 1996. The US is also supporting the government in an effort to clear Brčko District by the end of 2024.{{Cite web |last=Vladimirsky |first=Lev |date=27 February 2024 |title=With U.S. Support, Mostar Now Mine-Impact Free Nearly Three Decades After War's End |url=https://www.state.gov/with-u-s-support-mostar-now-mine-impact-free-nearly-three-decades-after-wars-end/ |access-date=8 October 2024 |website=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905145654/https://www.state.gov/with-u-s-support-mostar-now-mine-impact-free-nearly-three-decades-after-wars-end/ |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Zone Rouge}}

In the Ardennes region of France, large-scale citizen evacuations were necessary during MEC removal operations in 2001. In the forests of Verdun, French government démineurs working for the Département du Déminage still hunt for poisonous, volatile, and/or explosive munitions and recover about 900 tons every year. The most feared are corroded artillery shells containing chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas. French and Flemish farmers still find many UXOs when ploughing their fields, the so-called "iron harvest".{{Cite web |title='Iron harvest:' A Belgian team unearths unexploded ammunition from WWI |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2023/08/04/iron-harvest-belgian-team-unearths-unexploded-ammunition-wwi |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=The World from PRX |date=4 August 2023 |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426205446/https://theworld.org/stories/2023/08/04/iron-harvest-belgian-team-unearths-unexploded-ammunition-wwi |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Hathaway |first=Sheri |date=November 14, 2019 |title='Iron harvest' still threatens European farmers |url=https://www.producer.com/news/iron-harvest-still-threatens-european-farmers/ |access-date=26 April 2024 |website=The Western Producer |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426195431/https://www.producer.com/news/iron-harvest-still-threatens-european-farmers/ |url-status=live }}

In Belgium, Dovo, the country's bomb disposal unit, recovers between 150 and 200 tons of unexploded bombs each year. Over 20 members of the unit have been killed since it was formed in 1919.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26663643?ocid |title=Behind the scenes with Belgium's bomb disposal unit |publisher=BBC |date=21 March 2014 |access-date=22 March 2014 |archive-date=18 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018223317/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26663643?ocid |url-status=live }}

In February 2019, a {{convert|1000|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} bomb was found at a construction site at Porte de la Chapelle, near the Gare du Nord in Paris. The bomb, which led to a temporary cancellation of Eurostar trains to Paris and evacuation of 2,000 people, was probably dropped by the RAF in April 1944, targeting the Nazi-occupied Paris before the D-Day landings in Normandy.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/17/eurostar-trains-cancelled-french-police-detonate-bomb-dropped/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/17/eurostar-trains-cancelled-french-police-detonate-bomb-dropped/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Eurostar trains cancelled as French police detonate Second World War bomb dropped by the RAF|work=The Telegraph|date=17 February 2019}}{{cbignore}}

File:Fundort Luftmine 04 Koblenz 2011.jpg dropped by the RAF during World War II. Found in the Rhine near Koblenz, 4 December 2011. A linear shaped charge has been placed on top of the casing.]]

File:Munich bomb.ogv

In Germany, the responsibility for UXO disposal falls to the states, each of which operates a bomb disposal unit. These are known as the {{langx|de|Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst|label=none}} (KMBD) or {{langx|de|Kampfmittelräumdienst|label=none}} (KRD) ("Explosive Ordnance Disposal Service") and are commonly part of the state police or report directly to a mid-level administrative district. Germany's bomb squads are considered some of the busiest worldwide, deactivating a bomb every two weeks.

The presence of UXO is an ongoing task. Areas that have been subjected to aircraft bombs and artillery shells or were known battle grounds are mapped. The reconnaissance photos of the allies taken after airstrikes may show UXO and are still used to this day for location. In mapped areas New road projects, demolition, new land developments require clearing with metal detectors by the authorities to get the permits.

An estimated 5,500 UXOs from World War II are still uncovered each year in Germany, an average of 15 per day.{{cite web |first=Manuel |last=Ruoff |title=Nicht immer hat's gekracht |language=de |trans-title=Not everything blew up |work=Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung |url=https://archiv.preussische-allgemeine.de/2013/paz1350.pdf |date=14 December 2013 |page=4 |access-date=2022-09-26 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022234842/https://archiv.preussische-allgemeine.de/2013/paz1350.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,801397,00.html |title=Luftmine bei Koblenz: Killer im Schlick |trans-title=Blockbust in Koblenz: Killer in the Mud |language=de |work=Der Spiegel |date=3 December 2011 |access-date=20 July 2013 |archive-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421122313/http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,801397,00.html |url-status=live }} Concentration is especially high in Berlin, where many artillery shells and smaller munitions from the Battle of Berlin are uncovered each year. One of the largest individual pieces ever found was an unexploded 'Tallboy' bomb uncovered in the Sorpe Dam in 1958.{{cite web|author=w.e. |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/archiv/pdf.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Farchiv.abendblatt.de%2Fha%2F1959%2Fpdf%2F19590106.pdf%2FASV_HAB_19590106_HA_012.pdf |title=Der größte Blindgänger wird heute entschärft |publisher=abendblatt.de |access-date=8 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714154212/http://www.abendblatt.de/archiv/pdf.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Farchiv.abendblatt.de%2Fha%2F1959%2Fpdf%2F19590106.pdf%2FASV_HAB_19590106_HA_012.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2014}}

In 2011, a {{cvt|1800|kg|lb}} RAF bomb from World War II was uncovered in Koblenz on the bottom of the Rhine River after a prolonged drought. It caused the evacuation of 45,000 people from the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16018659|title=Koblenz evacuated for WWII bomb removal from Rhine|work=BBC|date=4 December 2011|access-date=20 June 2018|archive-date=3 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203225957/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16018659|url-status=live}} While most cases only make local news, one of the more spectacular finds in was an American {{convert|500|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} aerial bomb discovered in Munich on 28 August 2012.{{cite news |date=29 August 2012 |title=Munich police detonates second world war bomb – video |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2012/aug/29/munich-war-bomb-video |access-date=20 July 2013 |work=The Guardian |location=London}} As it was deemed too unsafe for transport, it had to be exploded on site, shattering windows over a wide area of Schwabing and causing structural damage to several homes despite precautions to minimize damage. In February 2015, a British unexploded bomb was discovered near Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-germany-dortmund-bomb-idUSKBN0LU1AY20150226 |title=Unexploded bomb shuts down Dortmund stadium |publisher=Reuters |date=26 February 2015 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110205551/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-germany-dortmund-bomb-idUSKBN0LU1AY20150226 |url-status=live }} In May 2015, some 20,000 people had to leave their homes in Cologne in order to be safe while a {{cvt|1000|kg|lb}} bomb was defused.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32897388 |title=Germany WW2 bomb find prompts Cologne's biggest evacuation |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2017|date=27 May 2015}}

On December 20, 2016, another 1,800 kg RAF bomb was found in the city centre of Augsburg and prompted the evacuation of 54,000 people on December 25, which was considered the biggest bomb-related evacuation in Germany's post-war history at the time.{{cite web|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/bombenentschaerfung-in-augsburg-bombenentschaerfung-in-augsburg-eine-stadt-im-wartezustand-1.3309444|title=Weltkriegsbombe in Augsburg entschärft|first=Christian|last=Endt|location=Augsburg|date=16 December 2017|access-date=16 December 2017|website=Sueddeutsche.de|archive-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205145958/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/bombenentschaerfung-in-augsburg-bombenentschaerfung-in-augsburg-eine-stadt-im-wartezustand-1.3309444|url-status=live}} In May 2017, 50,000 people in Hanover had to be evacuated in order to defuse three British unexploded bombs.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39828327 |title=Hannover evacuates 50,000 over World War Two bombs |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2017 |date=7 May 2017 |archive-date=4 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904160617/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39828327 |url-status=live }}

On 29 August 2017, a British HC 4000 bomb was discovered during construction work near the Goethe University in Frankfurt, requiring the evacuation of approximately 70,000 people within a radius of {{Convert|1.5|km|abbr=on|1}}. This was the largest evacuation in Germany since World War II.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/31/ww2-blockbuster-bomb-to-force-evacuation-of-70000-in-frankfurt |title=WW2 'blockbuster' bomb to force evacuation of 70,000 in Frankfurt |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 August 2017 |agency=Agence France-Presse |access-date=31 August 2017 |archive-date=31 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831042532/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/31/ww2-blockbuster-bomb-to-force-evacuation-of-70000-in-frankfurt |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |author=Hannelore Crolly |url=https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article168209250/Das-macht-die-Blockbuster-Bombe-so-gefaehrlich.html |title=Evakuierung in Frankfurt: Das macht die 'Blockbuster'-Bombe so gefährlich |newspaper=Die Welt |language=de |orig-year=1 September 2017 |date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=6 February 2019 |access-date=1 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206213545/https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article168209250/Das-macht-die-Blockbuster-Bombe-so-gefaehrlich.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/bombenfund-in-frankfurt/bombenalarm-in-frankfurt-ganz-frankfurt-dankt-den-helden-des-tages-15182153.html |title=Bombenalarm in Frankfurt: Ganz Frankfurt dankt den Helden des Tages |newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |language=de |date=3 September 2017 |archive-date=4 September 2017 |access-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904054608/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/bombenfund-in-frankfurt/bombenalarm-in-frankfurt-ganz-frankfurt-dankt-den-helden-des-tages-15182153.html |url-status=live }} Later, it was successfully defused on 3 September.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41140949 |title=Frankfurt WW2 bomb defused after mass evacuation |work=BBC News |access-date=4 September 2017|date=3 September 2017}} In the meantime, 21,000 residents in Koblenz were evacuated due to an unexploded {{convert|500|kg|abbr=on}} bomb dropped by the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/koblenz-residents-move-out-as-world-war-two-bomb-made-safe/a-40338043 |title=World War Two bomb defusion causes Koblenz evacuation |publisher=DW |date=2 September 2017 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=9 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409202350/http://www.dw.com/en/koblenz-residents-move-out-as-world-war-two-bomb-made-safe/a-40338043 |url-status=live }}

On 8 April 2018, a 1,800 kg bomb was defused in Paderborn, which caused the evacuation of more than 26,000 people.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-world-war-ii-bomb-removal-forces-mass-evacuation-in-western-city/a-43297567 |title=Germany: World War II bomb removal forces mass evacuation in western city |publisher=DW |date=8 April 2018 |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920121530/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-world-war-ii-bomb-removal-forces-mass-evacuation-in-western-city/a-43297567 |url-status=live }} On 24 May 2018, a {{convert|550|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} bomb was defused in Dresden after the initial attempts of deactivation failed, and caused a small explosion.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44237025 |title=Dresden WW2 bomb defused after tense days |publisher=BBC |date=24 May 2018}} On 3 July 2018, a 250 kg bomb was disabled in Potsdam which caused 10,000 people to be evacuated from the region.{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20180703/10000-residents-evacuated-from-central-potsdam-after-wwii-bomb-discovery |title=10,000 residents evacuated from central Potsdam after WWII bomb discovery |publisher=The Local |date=3 July 2018 |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-date=3 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703120008/https://www.thelocal.de/20180703/10000-residents-evacuated-from-central-potsdam-after-wwii-bomb-discovery |url-status=live }} In August 2018, 18,500 people in the city of Ludwigshafen had to be evacuated, in order to detonate a {{convert|1,100|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} bomb dropped by American forces.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20180826/wwii-bomb-defused-in-germany-after-18500-evacuated|title=WWII bomb defused in Ludwigshafen after 18,500 evacuated|work=The Local.de|date=26 August 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=14 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714025306/https://www.thelocal.de/20180826/wwii-bomb-defused-in-germany-after-18500-evacuated|url-status=live}}

In Summer 2018, high temperatures caused a decrease in the water level of the Elbe River in which grenades, mines and other explosives founded in the eastern German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony were dumped.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/hot-weather-exposes-world-war-ii-munitions-in-german-waters/a-44924959 |title=Hot weather exposes World War II munitions in German waters |work=DW |date=2 August 2018 |access-date=10 March 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015034105/https://www.dw.com/en/hot-weather-exposes-world-war-ii-munitions-in-german-waters/a-44924959 |url-status=live }} In October 2018, a World War II bomb was found during construction work in Europaviertel, Frankfurt, 16,000 people were affected within a radius of {{convert|700|m|abbr=on}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20181029/frank|title=16,000 people affected by WWII bomb found in Frankfurt|work=The Local.de|date=29 October 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107092825/https://www.thelocal.de/20181029/frank|url-status=live}} In November 2018, 10,000 people had to be evacuated, in order to defuse an American unexploded bomb found in Cologne.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20181129/10000-people-evacuated-after-unexploded-bomb-found-in-cologne|title=10,000 people affected by unexploded bomb found in Cologne|work=The Local.de|date=29 November 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=21 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421063521/https://www.thelocal.de/20181129/10000-people-evacuated-after-unexploded-bomb-found-in-cologne|url-status=live}} In December 2018, a {{convert|250|kg|abbr=on}} World War II bomb was discovered in Mönchengladbach.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20181210/250-kg-wwii-bomb-found-near-duesseldorf|title=250 kg WWII bomb found near Düsseldorf|work=The Local.de|date=10 December 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=11 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211115604/https://www.thelocal.de/20181210/250-kg-wwii-bomb-found-near-duesseldorf|url-status=live}}

On 31 January 2019, a World War II bomb was detonated in Lingen, Lower Saxony, which caused property damage of shattering windows and the evacuation of 9,000 people.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190201/windows-shattered-9000-evacuated-lingen|title=WWII bomb detonated in Lower Saxony, shattering windows|work=The Local.de|date=1 February 2019}} In February 2019, an American unexploded bomb was found in Essen, which led to the evacuation of 4,000 residents within a radius of {{convert|250|to|500|m|ft|-2}} of defusing work.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190204/over-4000-people-affected-by-world-war-ii-bomb-found-in-essen|title=Over 4,000 people affected by World War II bomb found in Essen|work=The Local.de|date=4 February 2019|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204172126/https://www.thelocal.de/20190204/over-4000-people-affected-by-world-war-ii-bomb-found-in-essen|url-status=live}} A few weeks later, a {{convert|250|kg|abbr=on}} bomb led to the evacuation of 8,000 people in Nuremberg.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190219/250-kg-wwii-bomb-detonated-in|title=250 kg WWII aeriel [sic] bomb detonated in Nuremberg|work=The Local.de|date=19 February 2019|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-date=25 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425094754/https://www.thelocal.de/20190219/250-kg-wwii-bomb-detonated-in|url-status=live}} In March 2019, another 250 kg bomb was found in Rostock.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190327/250-kg-world-war-ii-bomb-found-in-rostock-causes-city-centre-shutdown|title=250 kg World War II bomb found in Rostock causes city centre shutdown|work=The Local.de|date=27 March 2019|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-date=11 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411060526/https://www.thelocal.de/20190327/250-kg-world-war-ii-bomb-found-in-rostock-causes-city-centre-shutdown|url-status=live}} In April 2019, a World War II bomb was found near the U.S. military facilities in Wiesbaden.{{cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/wiesbaden-wwii-bomb-removed-after-mass-evacuation-1.576675|title=Wiesbaden WWII bomb removed after mass evacuation|work=Stars and Stripes|date=12 April 2019|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-date=25 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425094757/https://www.stripes.com/news/wiesbaden-wwii-bomb-removed-after-mass-evacuation-1.576675|url-status=live}}

On 14 April 2019, 600 people were evacuated when a bomb was discovered in Frankfurt's River Main. Divers with the city's fire service were participating in a routine training exercise when they found the 250 kg device.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47927324|title=World War Two bomb detonated in Frankfurt river|date=2019-04-14|access-date=2019-04-14|language=en-GB|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415011930/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47927324|url-status=live}} Later in April, thousands were evacuated in both Regensburg{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190424/bavaria-thousands-evacuated-during-wwii-bomb-detonation|title=Bavaria: Thousands evacuated during WWII bomb detonation|work=The Local.de|date=24 April 2019|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-date=25 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425094752/https://www.thelocal.de/20190424/bavaria-thousands-evacuated-during-wwii-bomb-detonation|url-status=live}} and Cologne, upon the discovery of unexploded ordnance.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.de/20190424/breaking-wwii-bomb-discovery-forces-evacuation-in-cologne-traffic-and-train-services-affected|title=WWII bomb forces evacuation, travel disruption in Cologne|work=The Local.de|date=24 April 2019|access-date=25 April 2019|archive-date=25 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425094752/https://www.thelocal.de/20190424/breaking-wwii-bomb-discovery-forces-evacuation-in-cologne-traffic-and-train-services-affected|url-status=live}}

On 23 June 2019, a World War II aerial bomb that was buried {{convert|4|m|ft}} underground in a field in Limburg self-detonated and left a crater that measured {{convert|10|m|ft}} wide and {{convert|4|m|ft}} deep. Though no one was injured, the explosion was powerful enough to register a minor tremor of 1.7 on the Richter scale.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-bomb-self-detonates-in-german-field-leaves-crater/a-49331435|title=WWII bomb self-detonates in German field, leaves crater|last=Gonzalez|first=Jenipher Camino|date=2019-06-24|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-09-14|archive-date=5 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705055205/https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-bomb-self-detonates-in-german-field-leaves-crater/a-49331435|url-status=live}} In June 2019, a World War II bomb, weighing {{convert|500|kg}}, was found near the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main. More than 16,000 people were told to evacuate the location before the bomb was defused by the ordnance authorities on July 7, 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/07/07/16000-evacuated-as-experts-diffuse-American-WWII-bomb-in-Frankfurt/3311562519390/|title=16,000 evacuated as experts diffuse American WWII bomb in Frankfurt|access-date=7 July 2019|publisher=UPI|archive-date=7 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707185756/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2019/07/07/16000-evacuated-as-experts-diffuse-American-WWII-bomb-in-Frankfurt/3311562519390/|url-status=live}} On September 2, 2019, over 15,000 people were evacuated in Hanover, after a World War II aerial bomb, weighing {{convert|500|lb|kg|order=flip}}, was found at a construction site.{{cite web|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/199902/15%2C000+People+Were+Evacuated+in+Hanover+Because+of+a+World+War+II+Aerial+Bomb|title=15,000 People Were Evacuated in Hanover Because of a World War II Aerial Bomb|access-date=3 September 2019|publisher=Novinite.com}}

In January 2020, 14,000 residents in Dortmund were ordered to leave their homes, during the disposal of two {{cvt|250|kg}} bombs dropped by American and British forces.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/dortmund-wwii-bomb-disposal-complete/a-51974325 |title=Dortmund WWII bomb disposal complete |publisher=DW |date=12 June 2020 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110205551/https://www.dw.com/en/dortmund-wwii-bomb-disposal-complete/a-51974325 |url-status=live }} On August 2, 2021, 3,000 residents had to evacuate a {{convert|300|m|ft|adj=on}} radius of the discovery site of a {{cvt|250|kg}} unexploded bomb in Borsigplatz area of Dortmund.{{cite web |url=https://www.ruhr24.de/dortmund/dortmund-bombe-heute-nordstadt-entschaerfung-evakuierung-duerener-strasse-feuerwehr-polizei-90897955.html |title=Dortmund: Bomben-Entschärfung startete wohl wegen Klingel-Problem verspätet |publisher=RUHR24 |language=de |date=3 August 2021 }}

On October 29, 2021, a five-year-old boy discovered a British hand grenade from World War II on the playground of his kindergarten "An der Beverbäke" in Oldenburg. He took it home in his backpack.{{Cite news |date=2021-11-03 |title=Kind findet Handgranate in Kita – und nimmt sie mit nach Hause |language=de |url=https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/oldenburg/oldenburg-ort703376/oldenburg-kind-findet-handgranate-in-kita-und-nimmt-sie-mit-nach-hause-91087599.html |access-date=2021-11-15 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115211412/https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/oldenburg/oldenburg-ort703376/oldenburg-kind-findet-handgranate-in-kita-und-nimmt-sie-mit-nach-hause-91087599.html |url-status=live }} The kindergarten is located on a former barracks site used by the Bundeswehr until 2007, which was converted into a residential area.{{Cite news |date=2021-11-02 |title=Fünfjähriger Junge findet Handgranate auf Kita-Spielplatz in Oldenburg |language=de |work=Stern |url=https://www.stern.de/panorama/oldenburg--fuenfjaehriger-findet-handgranate-auf-kita-spielplatz-30884172.html |access-date=2021-11-15 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115212045/https://www.stern.de/panorama/oldenburg--fuenfjaehriger-findet-handgranate-auf-kita-spielplatz-30884172.html |url-status=live }} On December 1, 2021, an old aircraft bomb exploded in the city of Munich during construction near Donnersbergerbruecke station.{{Cite web|last=Halasz|first=Stephanie|date=December 1, 2021|title=Four injured as old bomb explodes near train station in German city of Munich|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/01/europe/germany-munich-explosion-ger-intl/index.html|access-date=2021-12-01|website=CNN}}

On October 11, 2023, authorities ordered residents in Huckarde, Dortmund to leave their homes, with a {{convert|250|m|abbr=on|adj=mid}} radius from the discovery site of a {{convert|250|kg|adj=on}} unexploded ordnance.{{cite web |url=https://www.dortmund.de/newsroom/nachrichten/blindgaenger-in-huckarde-entschaerft-zehn-anwohner-innen-und-gewerbebetriebe-betroffen.html |title=Blindgänger in Huckarde entschärft - zehn Anwohner*innen und Gewerbebetriebe betroffen |publisher=Dotmund.de |language=de |date=11 October 2023 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110205553/https://www.dortmund.de/newsroom/nachrichten/blindgaenger-in-huckarde-entschaerft-zehn-anwohner-innen-und-gewerbebetriebe-betroffen.html |url-status=live }} A month later, on November 10, a {{convert|500|m|adj=on}} security perimeter was established in Nordhausen, following the discovery of a {{convert|450|kg|adj=on}} unexploded bomb.{{cite web |url=https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/thueringen/nord-thueringen/nordhausen/bombe-weltkrieg-sperrung-polizei-rothenburgstrasse-100.html |title=Bombenfund in Nordhausen - Räumungsarbeiten abgeschlossen |publisher=Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk |language=de |date=10 November 2023 |access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110211055/https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/thueringen/nord-thueringen/nordhausen/bombe-weltkrieg-sperrung-polizei-rothenburgstrasse-100.html |url-status=live }} On April 26, 2024, authorities defused a {{convert|500|kg|adj=on}} unexploded American bomb that had been discovered two days earlier at a university expansion site in Mainz. The discovery prompted the evacuation of residents within a radius of {{Convert|500 to 1000|m|adj=off}}, affecting approximately 3,500 people.{{cite web |last=Church |first=Ben |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/26/sport/unexploded-bomb-mainz-soccer-stadium-spt-intl/index.html |title=Unexploded WWII bomb to be defused near German soccer stadium |publisher=CNN |date=26 April 2024 |access-date=4 May 2024 |archive-date=1 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240501212230/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/26/sport/unexploded-bomb-mainz-soccer-stadium-spt-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Kuta |first=Sarah |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/world-war-ii-bomb-successfully-defused-near-german-soccer-stadium-180984248/ |title=World War II-Era Bomb Successfully Defused Near German Soccer Stadium |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine |date=3 May 2024 }}

In August and October 2024, four bombs were found and safely defused in Cologne, including a 1-ton U.S. WWII bomb which was discovered during construction work in Merheim. Authorities initially tried to defuse the bomb but could only remove one of its two fuses, leading to a controlled detonation on October 11, 2024. The operation, described as the most complex since 1945, required evacuating 6,400 residents and clearing three nearby hospitals.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-large-wwii-bomb-detonated-in-cologne/a-70474222 |title=Germany: Large WWII bomb detonated in Cologne |publisher=DW |date=11 October 2024 }}

Malta, then a British colony, was heavily bombarded by Italian and German aircraft during World War II. During the war the Royal Engineers had a Bomb Disposal Section which cleared about 7,300 unexploded bombs between 1940 and 1942.{{cite news |last1=Brincat |first1=Erika |title=Unexploded Bombs |url=http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2011-05-08/news/unexploded-bombs-291844/ |work=The Malta Independent |date=8 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824221649/http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2011-05-08/news/unexploded-bombs-291844/ |archive-date=24 August 2021}} UXO is still being found intermittently in Malta as of the early 21st century, and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) is responsible for removing such ordnance.{{cite news |last1=Arena |first1=Jessica |title=Marsaxlokk beach evacuated after unexploded device found |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/marsaxlokk-bay-evacuated-after-ww2-bomb-found.889255 |work=Times of Malta |date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824221719/https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/marsaxlokk-bay-evacuated-after-ww2-bomb-found.889255 |archive-date=24 August 2021}} In July 2021, a Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar which likely fell off a British warship during the war was discovered on a beach in Marsaxlokk and it was successfully removed by the AFM.{{cite news |title=Marsaxlokk unexploded device was a British anti-submarine mortar |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/marsaxlokk-unexploded-device-was-a-british-anti-submarine-mortar.889528 |work=Times of Malta |date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728035201/https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/marsaxlokk-unexploded-device-was-a-british-anti-submarine-mortar.889528 |archive-date=28 July 2021}}

In October 2020, Polish Navy divers discovered a six-ton "Tallboy" British bomb. During the attempt to remotely neutralise the bomb, it exploded in a shipping canal off the Polish port city of Świnoujscie. The Polish Navy considered it a success because the divers were able to ultimately destroy the munition with zero casualties reported.{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/world/europe/poland-bomb.html|title= World War II-Era 'Earthquake Bomb' Explodes in Polish Waters|access-date= 14 October 2020|website= The New York Times|date= 14 October 2020|last1= Ismay|first1= John|archive-date= 15 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201015000022/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/world/europe/poland-bomb.html|url-status= live}} The government reportedly took all necessary measures before they started to defuse the bomb, which included evacuating 750 residents from the site.{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54522203|title= WW2 'earthquake' bomb explodes in Poland during attempt to defuse it|work= BBC News|date= 13 October 2020|access-date= 14 October 2020|archive-date= 14 October 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201014002405/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54522203|url-status= live}}

Since the 1980s, more than 750,000 pieces of UXO from the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) has been recovered and destroyed by the Guardia Civil in Spain. In the 2010s, around 1,000 bombs, artillery shells and grenades have been defused every year.{{citation |title=Las últimas bombas de la Guerra Civil |date=19 October 2013 |url=http://www.abc.es/espana/20131019/abci-bombas-guerra-civil-201310191714.html |language=es |publisher=ABC España |access-date=13 March 2018 |archive-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314043325/http://www.abc.es/espana/20131019/abci-bombas-guerra-civil-201310191714.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.es/20190905/civil-war-bomb-detonated-at-spains-newest-theme-park|title=Civil War bomb detonated at Spain's newest theme park|access-date=5 September 2019|website=The Local|date=5 September 2019|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905134126/https://www.thelocal.es/20190905/civil-war-bomb-detonated-at-spains-newest-theme-park|url-status=live}}

Ukraine is contaminated with UXO from World War II, former Soviet military training and the current Russo-Ukrainian War. Most of the UXO from the World Wars has presumably been removed by demining efforts in the mid-1970s, but sporadic remnants may remain in unknown locations. The UXO from the recent military conflicts includes both landmines and cluster bomblets dropped and set by both Ukrainian, anti-government and Russian forces. Reports of booby traps harming civilians also exist.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/11/ukraine-lasting-impact-landmines-civilians-161117114427487.html |title=Ukraine: The lasting impact of landmines on civilians |publisher=Aljazeera |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=13 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913135119/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/11/ukraine-lasting-impact-landmines-civilians-161117114427487.html |url-status=live }} Ukraine reports that Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast are the regions mostly affected by unexploded submunitions. Proper, reliable statistics are currently unavailable, and information from the involved combatants are possibly politically biased and partly speculative.{{cite web |url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2016/ukraine/mine-action.aspx |title=Ukraine – Mine action |publisher=Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor |date=14 November 2016 |access-date=13 September 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924035833/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2016/ukraine/mine-action.aspx |url-status=dead }} However, 600 deaths and 2,000 injured due to UXO in 2014 and 2015 alone have been accounted for.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/apr/04/ukraine-attempt-defuse-landmines-as-more-are-planted |title=Ukraine's desperate attempt to defuse landmines – as more are planted |author=Jack Losh |work=The Guardian |date=4 April 2016 |access-date=13 September 2017}}

Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, both Russia and Ukraine have extensively used mines. As of the 22 July 2023, it is estimated that an area of {{Convert|174000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of Ukraine are mined.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-22 |title=Ukraine is now the most mined country. It will take decades to make safe. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/22/ukraine-is-now-most-mined-country-it-will-take-decades-make-safe/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en |archive-date=12 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012083103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/22/ukraine-is-now-most-mined-country-it-will-take-decades-make-safe/ |url-status=live }} The World Bank estimates that it will take $37.4 billion to clear the currently mined areas of Ukraine over a period of ten years. As of September 10, 2023, the estimated number of civilians killed by mines and unexploded ordinance is 989, and this number will increase as the conflict continues and well after the conflict has ended.{{Cite web |last=Hegglin |first=Oliver |date=2023-09-01 |title=The Military Value and Human Security Implications of Landmine use in Ukraine |url=http://www.hscentre.org/europe/military-value-human-security-implications-landmine-use-ukraine/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=Human Security Centre |language=en-US |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029134105/http://www.hscentre.org/europe/military-value-human-security-implications-landmine-use-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Civilian casualties of mine-related incidents Ukraine 2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1294148/civilian-casualties-of-mine-related-incidents-ukraine/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |website=Statista |language=en |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029083816/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1294148/civilian-casualties-of-mine-related-incidents-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}

The Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC2024) hosted by Switzerland and Ukraine aims to clear 10 million hectares (12.3 million acres) of land from land mines and UXO, this equates to roughly 10% of Ukraine's arable land. Before the invasion of Ukraine, agriculture made up some 11% of Ukraine's GDP, at the end of 2023 this figure had fallen to 7.4%. According to data presented in a Tony Blair Institute report, land mines are "suppressing Ukraine’s GDP by $11.2 billion (€10.27 billion) each year — equivalent to roughly 5.6% of GDP in 2021".{{Cite web |title=War in Ukraine: Land mines to hurt food exports for years – DW – 10/16/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russias-war-in-ukraine-landmines-and-contamination-threaten-food-security/a-70448256 |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=dw.com |language=en |archive-date=13 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213214704/https://www.dw.com/en/russias-war-in-ukraine-landmines-and-contamination-threaten-food-security/a-70448256 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-17 |title=Switzerland hosts Ukraine Mine Action Conference 2024 in Lausanne |url=https://defence-industry.eu/switzerland-hosts-ukraine-mine-action-conference-2024-in-lausanne/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |language=en |archive-date=13 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213105650/https://defence-industry.eu/switzerland-hosts-ukraine-mine-action-conference-2024-in-lausanne/ |url-status=live }}

File:1918 German UXOs2.JPG prepares to dispose of an unexploded bomb during World War I.]]

File:Danger Don't Touch Art.IWMPST2904.jpg

File:This Child Found a 'blind' Art.IWMPST2941.jpg warning against leaving blinds on firing ranges]]

UXO is standard terminology in the United Kingdom, although in artillery, especially on practice ranges, an unexploded shell is referred to as a blind, and during the Blitz in World War II an unexploded bomb was referred to as a UXB.

Most current UXO risk is limited to areas in cities, mainly London, Sheffield and Portsmouth, that were heavily bombed during the Blitz, and to land used by the military to store ammunition and for training.{{cite web|url=http://www.ssrichardmontgomery.com/British%20textbook%20of%20Explosives%20.pdf|title=British textbook of Explosives (Technical reference book, not Instruction manual)|website=Ssrichardmontgomery.com|access-date=25 February 2008|archive-date=17 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417041353/http://www.ssrichardmontgomery.com/British%20textbook%20of%20Explosives%20.pdf|url-status=live}} According to the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), from 2006 to 2009 over 15,000 items of ordnance were found in construction sites in the UK.{{cite web|url=http://www.ciria.org/service/press_releases/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=press_releases&NoTemplate=1&ContentID=13430|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419030120/http://www.ciria.org/service/press_releases/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=press_releases&NoTemplate=1&ContentID=13430|url-status=dead|title=Object reference not set to an instance of an object.|date=19 April 2013|archive-date=19 April 2013|website=Archive.is|access-date=16 December 2017}} It is not uncommon for many homes to be evacuated temporarily when a bomb is found.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-39924766 |title=Unexploded bomb shuts Aston Expressway |website=BBC News |date=15 May 2017 |access-date=15 May 2017 |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526141644/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-39924766 |url-status=live }} A typical example of UXB evacuation, a 500lb bomb in Birmingham. In April 2007, 1,000 residents were evacuated in Plymouth when a World War II bomb was discovered,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/6524353.stm |title=Residents back after bomb found |website=BBC News |date=4 April 2007 |archive-date=23 October 2017 |access-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023070048/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/6524353.stm |url-status=live }} and in June 2008 a {{convert|1,000|kg|lb|adj=on}} bomb was found in Bow in East London. In 2009 CIRIA published Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) – a guide for the construction industry{{cite web |url=http://www.ciria.org/ItemDetail?iProductcode=C681&Category=BOOK |title=Unexploded ordnance (UXO) A guide for the construction industry (C681) – description of book |website=CIRIA |access-date=22 May 2017 |archive-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802173626/http://www.ciria.org/ItemDetail?iProductcode=C681&Category=BOOK |url-status=dead }} to provide advice on assessing the risk posed by UXO.

The burden of Explosive Ordnance Disposal in the UK is split between Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Officers, Royal Logistic Corps Ammunition Technicians in the Army, Clearance Divers of the Royal Navy and the Armourers of the Royal Air Force. The Metropolitan Police of London is the only force not to rely on the Ministry of Defence, although they generally focus on contemporary terrorist devices rather than unexploded ordnance and will often call military teams in to deal with larger and historical bombs.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

In May 2016, a {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=on|adj=on|order=flip}} bomb was found at the former Royal High Junior School in Bath which led to 1,000 houses being evacuated.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-36279782|title=Bath WW2 bomb scare: Hundreds of homes evacuated|work=BBC News|date=13 May 2016|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717221657/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-36279782|url-status=live}} In September 2016, a {{convert|500|kg|lb|abbr=on}} bomb was discovered on the seabed in Portsmouth Harbour.{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/30/giant-wartime-bomb-found-in-portsmouth-harbour-to-be-exploded-at/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/30/giant-wartime-bomb-found-in-portsmouth-harbour-to-be-exploded-at/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Giant wartime bomb found in Portsmouth Harbour to be exploded at sea|work=The Telegraph|date=30 September 2016}}{{cbignore}} In March 2017, a {{convert|500|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} bomb was found in Brondesbury Park, London.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/huge-unexploded-ww2-bomb-discovered-9954065|title=Huge unexploded WW2 bomb discovered buried deep at building site in affluent London suburb popular with celebrities|work=Mirror|date=3 March 2017}} In May 2017, a {{convert|550|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} device was detonated in Birmingham.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-39939925|title=WW2 bomb detonated safely near M6 in Birmingham|work=BBC News|date=16 May 2017|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717184555/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-39939925|url-status=live}} In February 2018, a {{convert|1100|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}} bomb was discovered in the Thames which forced London City Airport to cancel all the scheduled flights.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-city-airport-to-reopen-on-tuesday-after-ww2-bomb-transported-down-thames-a3765056.html|title=London City Airport reopens after WW2 bomb towed away down Thames|work=Evening Standard|date=13 February 2018|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006081704/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-city-airport-to-reopen-on-tuesday-after-ww2-bomb-transported-down-thames-a3765056.html|url-status=live}} In February 2019, a {{convert|3|in|abbr=on|order=flip}} explosive device was located and destroyed in Dovercourt, near Harwich, Essex.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-47273348|title=Essex beach closed over 'unexploded ordnance'|work=BBC News|date=17 February 2019|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301133457/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-47273348|url-status=live}}

On September 26, 2019, Invicta Valley Primary School in Kings Hill was reportedly evacuated after an unexploded World War II bomb was discovered in its vicinity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kentlive.news/news/live-updates-primary-school-evacuated-3362391|title=Primary school evacuated after discovery of unexploded WW2 bomb|last=Castle|first=Vicky|date=2019-09-26|website=kentlive|access-date=2019-09-29|archive-date=29 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929135958/https://www.kentlive.news/news/live-updates-primary-school-evacuated-3362391|url-status=live}}

In February 2021, thousands of residents of Exeter were evacuated from their homes prior to the detonation of a {{Convert|1,000|kg|abbr=on}} World War II bomb; the ensuing blast blew out windows and caused structural damage to nearby homes, leaving some uninhabitable.{{Cite news|title=Aerial footage of Exeter bomb exploding|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-devon-56257366|access-date=2021-03-03|archive-date=2 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302221519/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-devon-56257366|url-status=live}}

On 20 February 2024, a {{Convert|500|kg|abbr=on}} bomb from World War II was found in the garden of a residential property in Keyham, Plymouth. This prompted one of the largest evacuations in the UK since World War II, with more than 10,000 people evacuated. On 24 February, the bomb was taken out to sea and detonated, and the cordon in the area lifted.{{Cite web |title=Unexploded bomb in Plymouth safely removed during complex disposal operation and major evacuation |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/unexploded-bomb-in-plymouth-safely-removed-during-complex-disposal-operation-and-major-evacuation |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=GOV.UK |language=en |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329161946/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/unexploded-bomb-in-plymouth-safely-removed-during-complex-disposal-operation-and-major-evacuation |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2024-02-23 |title=Plymouth WW2 bomb found in garden detonated at sea |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-68385962 |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |date=2024-02-20 |title=Suspected World War Two explosive device found in Plymouth garden |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-68156374 |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329161946/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-68156374 |url-status=live }}

File:Australia is supporting Cleared Ground Demining to remove explosive remnants of war in Peleliu, Palau. Photo- Cleared Ground Demining and Todd Essicks (13252932693).jpg

Buried and abandoned aerial and mortar bombs, artillery shells, and other unexploded ordnance from World War II have threatened communities across the islands of the South Pacific. {{as of |2014}} the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs invested more than $5.6 million in support of conventional weapons destruction programs in the Pacific Islands.{{cite web|title=The Pacific Islands: U.S. Conventional Weapons Destruction Programs Reduce Threats from World War II-era Munitions|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/12/235367.htm|publisher=U.S. State Department|access-date=23 December 2014|date=17 December 2014|df=dmy-all|archive-date=21 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121125822/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/12/235367.htm|url-status=live}}

On the battlefield of Peleliu Island in the Republic of Palau UXO removal made the island safe for tourism. At Hell's Point Guadalcanal Province in the Solomon Islands an explosive ordnance disposal training program was established which safely disposed of hundreds of items of UXO. It trained police personnel to respond to EOD call-outs in the island's highly populated areas. On Mili Atoll and Maloelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands removal of UXO has allowed for population expansion into formerly inaccessible areas.

In the Marianas, World War II-era unexploded ordnance is still often found and detonated under controlled conditions.{{cite news|title=Live ordnance to be detonated in Marpi|url=http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/83859-live-ordnance-to-be-detonated-in-marpi|access-date=24 January 2017|publisher=Marianas Variety}}{{cite news|last1=Matanane|first1=Sabrina Salas|title=0 PC Lujan Elementary releasing students early|url=http://www.kuam.com/story/34327226/2017/01/25/pc-lujan-elementary-releasing-students-early|access-date=24 January 2017|publisher=KUAM|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202021412/http://www.kuam.com/story/34327226/2017/01/25/pc-lujan-elementary-releasing-students-early|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Eugenio|first1=Haidee V.|title=Navy, EMO detonate WWII ordnance|url=http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/3861-navy-emo-detonate-wwii-ordnance|access-date=24 January 2017|publisher=Marianas Variety|archive-date=5 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605190616/http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/3861-navy-emo-detonate-wwii-ordnance|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Unexploded ordnance removed from site of sewer line project|url=http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/92309-unexploded-ordnance-removed-from-site-of-sewer-line-project|access-date=24 January 2017|publisher=Marianas Variety|archive-date=5 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605192307/http://www.mvariety.com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/92309-unexploded-ordnance-removed-from-site-of-sewer-line-project|url-status=live}}

In September 2020, two Norwegian People's Aid employees were killed in an explosion in a residential area of Honiara, Solomon Islands, while clearing unexploded ordnance left over from the Pacific War of World War II.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54230528 |title=Solomon Islands: Men working for WW2 bomb clearing agency die in explosion |website=BBC |date=21 September 2020 }}

Protocol V of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons requires that when active hostilities have ended the parties must clear the areas under their control from "explosive remnants of war". Land mines are covered similarly by Protocol II.{{Cite web |title=CCW Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War – UNODA |url=https://disarmament.unoda.org/ccw-protocol-v-on-explosive-remnants-of-war/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |language=en-US |archive-date=4 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204182130/https://disarmament.unoda.org/ccw-protocol-v-on-explosive-remnants-of-war/ |url-status=live }} In addition to clearance obligations, Protocol V of the CCW requires parties to record information on the use and location of explosive ordnance and to provide this data to facilitate post-conflict clearance. It also encourages cooperation and assistance, allowing affected states to request international help with resources or expertise for ERW (Explosive Remnants of War) removal. Protocol V aims to reduce the long-term dangers posed by unexploded munitions to civilians and supports safer post-conflict recovery.{{Cite web |title=United Nations Treaty Collection |url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-2-d&chapter=26&clang=_en |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=treaties.un.org |language=EN |archive-date=27 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127110621/https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-2-d&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}

The Ottawa Treaty, signed in 1997 by 122 countries and effective in 1999, sought to eliminate anti-personnel landmines. It prohibits use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of Anti-personnel mines and mandates affected countries to clear mined areas within 10 years. While the treaty does not cover UXO (unexploded ordinance) directly, its principles indirectly influence UXO management, with clearance, victim assistance, and transparency obligations encouraging similar actions for UXO. Over 160 countries are now parties, with major non-signatories including the United States, China, and Russia.{{Cite web |title=United Nations Treaty Collection |url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-5&chapter=26&clang=_en |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=treaties.un.org |language=EN |archive-date=14 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114175817/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-5&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention – UNODA |url=https://disarmament.unoda.org/anti-personnel-landmines-convention/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |language=en-US |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814083411/https://disarmament.unoda.org/anti-personnel-landmines-convention/ |url-status=live }}

The Geneva Conventions and International humanitarian law address UXO indirectly through principles focused on civilian protection. Under Protocol I (1977), parties to a conflict are required to take precautions to minimize harm to civilians, which includes managing the risks posed by UXO with an emphasis on preventing long-term civilian casualties.{{Cite web |title=Cluster Munitions and International Humanitarian Law: The Need for Better Compliance and Stronger Rules: Existing International Humanitarian Law |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/arms/clusters0704/2.htm |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.hrw.org |archive-date=14 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114165912/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/arms/clusters0704/2.htm |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Demining}}

File:DSC 0128.JPG2 (5835522217).jpg

Many weapons, including aerial bombs in particular, are discovered during construction work, after lying undetected for decades. Having failed to explode while resting undiscovered is no guarantee that a bomb will not explode when disturbed. Such discoveries are common in heavily bombed cities, without a serious enough threat to warrant systematic searching.

Where there is known to be much unexploded ordnance, in cases of unexploded subsoil ordnance a remote investigation is done by visual interpretation of available historical aerial photographs. Modern techniques can combine geophysical and survey methods with modern electromagnetic and magnetic detectors. This provides digital mapping of UXO contamination with the aim to better target subsequent excavations, reducing the cost of digging on every metallic contact and speeding the clearance process. Magnetometer probes can detect UXO and provide geotechnical data before drilling or piling is carried out.{{cite web|url=http://www.geosoft.com/resources/casestudies/index.asp#uxo|title=Success Stories|publisher=Geosoft|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=18 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518112233/http://geosoft.com/resources/casestudies/index.asp#uxo|url-status=dead}}

In the U.S., the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP){{cite web|url=http://www.serdp.org/|title=Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Environmental Security Technology Certification Program|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-date=22 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222024902/https://serdp.org/|url-status=dead}} Department of Defense programs fund research into the detection and discrimination of UXO from scrap metal. Much of the cost of UXO removal comes from removing non-explosive items that the metal detectors have identified, so improved discrimination is critical. New techniques such as shape reconstruction from magnetic data and better de-noising techniques will reduce cleanup costs and enhance recovery.{{cite web|url=http://www.serdp.org/Program-Areas/Munitions-Response/Land|title=Land|publisher=Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Environmental Security Technology Certification Program|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109220603/http://www.serdp.org/Program-Areas/Munitions-Response/Land|archive-date=9 January 2014}}

The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council published a Geophysical Classification for Munitions Response guidance document in August 2015.{{cite web|title=Geophysical Classification for Munitions Response Fact Sheets (GCMR-1)|url=http://itrcweb.org/GuidanceDocuments/GCMR-1.pdf|publisher=Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council|access-date=29 August 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090617/http://itrcweb.org/GuidanceDocuments/GCMR-1.pdf|url-status=live}}

UXO or UXBs (as they are called in some countries – unexploded bombs) are broadly classified into buried and unburied. The disposal team carries out reconnaissance of the area and determines the location of the ordnance. If is not buried it may be dug up carefully and disposed of. But if the bomb is buried it becomes a huge task. A team is formed to find the location of the bomb using metal detectors and then the earth is dug carefully.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

There are a variety of effects unexploded ordnance contamination has on post-conflict societies other than physical harm from detonation. Segments of society which are also negatively affected include foreign direct investment, education, aid distribution, industrialization, and the environment.{{Cite web |last=David |first=Adam |date=2024-08-08 |title=Unexploded ordnance has become an ocean time bomb |url=https://dialogue.earth/en/ocean/unexploded-ordnance-has-become-an-ocean-time-bomb/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Dialogue Earth |language=en |archive-date=15 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915052545/https://dialogue.earth/en/ocean/unexploded-ordnance-has-become-an-ocean-time-bomb/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2024-10-30 |title=Top US Army EOD technician: Only bomb techs should take on unexploded bombs |url=https://www.army.mil/article/280981/top_us_army_eod_technician_only_bomb_techs_should_take_on_unexploded_bombs |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=www.army.mil |language=en |archive-date=29 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241129033228/https://www.army.mil/article/280981/top_us_army_eod_technician_only_bomb_techs_should_take_on_unexploded_bombs |url-status=live }}

UXO presence reduces farming communities’ ability to use industrial machinery due to higher likelihood of triggering a buried munition. As well as this, large scale infrastructure projects such as road, rail, dam, or bridge building which require heavy machinery are prevented due to the risk of setting off UXO. These two factors in turn reduce road building and therefore prevent other more remote communities from industrializing themselves.{{Cite journal |last1=Lin |first1=Erin |last2=Sprunger |first2=Christine D. |last3=Hwang |first3=Jyhjong |date=2021-09-01 |title=The farmer's battlefield: traditional ecological knowledge and unexploded bombs in Cambodia |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10195-0 |journal=Agriculture and Human Values |language=en |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=827–837 |doi=10.1007/s10460-021-10195-0 |s2cid=254229353 |issn=1572-8366}}{{Cite journal |last1=Nguyen |first1=Thuy Ngoc |last2=Tran |first2=Tuyen Quang |last3=Vu |first3=Huong Van |date=2022-06-10 |title=Unexploded ordnance contamination and household livelihood choice in rural Vietnam |url=https://rujec.org/article/79738/ |journal=Russian Journal of Economics |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=276–294 |doi=10.32609/j.ruje.8.79738 |s2cid=252789365 |issn=2405-4739 |doi-access=free |archive-date=5 December 2023 |access-date=7 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205223450/https://rujec.org/article/79738/ |url-status=live }}

Contaminated areas experience more difficulties in providing humanitarian aid to rural or remote communities.{{Cite journal |last=Ounmany |first=Kiengkay |date=2021 |title=Impacts of Unexploded Ordnance Clearance on Wet Rice Farming in Xieng Khouang Province, Northern Laos |journal=Journal of Peacebuilding & Development |language=en |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=372–376 |doi=10.1177/1542316621989233 |s2cid=233907674 |issn=1542-3166}} Infrastructure for transportation is either impossible to develop, or preexisting infrastructure is difficult to demine.{{Cite journal |last=Jaff |first=Dilshad |date=2022 |title=Landmines and unexploded ordnances: the silent killers that take innocent lives |journal=Medicine, Conflict and Survival |language=en |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=285–288 |doi=10.1080/13623699.2022.2103958 |pmid=35915892 |s2cid=251255780 |issn=1362-3699}}

Demining procedures destroy topsoil.{{Cite journal |last1=Hamad |first1=Rahel |last2=Kolo |first2=Kamal |last3=Balzter |first3=Heiko |date=2018-07-11 |title=Land Cover Changes Induced by Demining Operations in Halgurd-Sakran National Park in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=2422 |doi=10.3390/su10072422 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Sust...10.2422H |hdl=2381/42742 |hdl-access=free }} This causes increased erosion and can reduce the fertility of arable land.{{Cite web |last=Morin |first=Anthony |year=2008 |title=Demining and the Environment: A Primer |url=https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1671&context=cisr-journal |access-date=18 October 2024 |archive-date=19 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419083930/https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1671&context=cisr-journal |url-status=live }}

Munitions which are left over a long period of time degrade and eventually poison the soil or groundwater around them.{{Cite journal |last=Novik |first=Geir P. |date=2022-10-10 |title=Analysis of samples of high explosives extracted from explosive remnants of war |journal=Science of the Total Environment |volume=842 |pages=156864 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156864 |pmid=35752239 |bibcode= 2022ScTEn.84256864N|issn=0048-9697 |doi-access=free|hdl=11250/3015458 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-18 |title=Mapping the vulnerability of Ukraine's groundwater |url=https://ceobs.org/mapping-the-vulnerability-of-ukraines-groundwater/#3 |access-date=2024-10-18 |publisher=Conflict and Environment Observatory|language=en-GB |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918160114/https://ceobs.org/mapping-the-vulnerability-of-ukraines-groundwater/#3 |url-status=live }}

The inhibition of necessary resources correlates with decreases in education.{{Cite journal |last=Merrouche |first=Ouarda |date=2008-01-26 |title=Landmines and Poverty: IV Evidence from Mozambique |journal=Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy |volume=14 |issue=1 |doi=10.2202/1554-8597.1108 |s2cid=155052312 |issn=1554-8597|doi-access=free }} Injuries experienced by older members of the community take children away from classrooms to support a family's subsistence agriculture techniques.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Foreign direct investment from more developed nations is discouraged due to difficulty in clearing contaminated areas.{{Cite journal |last1=Nguyen |first1=Thuy Ngoc |last2=Tran |first2=Tuyen Quang |last3=Vu |first3=Huong Van |date=2022-06-10 |title=Unexploded ordnance contamination and household livelihood choice in rural Vietnam |journal=Russian Journal of Economics |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=276–294 |doi=10.32609/j.ruje.8.79738 |issn=2405-4739 |doi-access=free}}

• Ammunition dump
• Bombhunters, a 2006 documentary film about the effects of unexploded ordnance on Cambodian people
• Danger UXB, a 1979 British ITV television series set during the World War II
• Land of Mine, a 2015 movie about post-WWII demining in Denmark
• Delay-action bomb
• Dud
• Mines Advisory Group
• Ordnance
• Red Zone
• ZEUS-HLONS (HMMWV Laser Ordnance Neutralization System)

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book

|last = Owen

|first = James

|author-link = James Owen (British author)

|year = 2010

|title = Danger UXB

|publisher = Little, Brown

|isbn = 978-1-4087-0255-0

}}

• {{cite book

|last = Webster

|first = Donovan

|year = 1996

|title = Aftermath: The Remnants of War

|publisher = Pantheon

|isbn = 0-679-43195-0

|url-access = registration

|url = https://archive.org/details/aftermathremnant00webs

}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://maginternational.org/ Mines Advisory Group]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20020528112309/http://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/Library/Explosives/UXOSafety/uxosafety.html US Department of Defense UXO Awareness web site]

{{Pollution}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Bombs

Category:Cluster munitions

Category:Explosive weapons

Category:Environmental impact of war

Category:Articles containing video clips