LAND MINES TAKE TOLL ON CHECHEN CHILDREN.

On April 25, the Associated Press reported that, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) “approximately 4,000 Chechen children have been maimed or killed by mines since the first war erupted in the republic in 1994.” In all, 7,000 to 10,000 people are said to have fallen victim to land mines during the two wars. UNICEF estimates that there are currently about half a million mines scattered across the republic. UNICEF spent more than US$1 million in 2001 in Chechnya and in surrounding regions “teaching mine awareness to children and teachers and helping young victims recover.”