Lanka imports machines to clear mines

Sri Lanka has imported equipment to speed up mine clearing in the former war zone in the island's north, the defence ministry said yesterday.
The mine-clearing machines imported from Slovakia would be used to accelerate resettlement of people driven out of the area during the height of fighting, the ministry said in a statement.
Sri Lanka's army and eight other organisations were involved in removing thousands of mines, but most of the work was done manually, K Kumarasiri, secretary to the Nation Building Ministry, told AFP.