In memory of the battle of EI Alamein

In memory of the battle of El Alamein this is what Satan's Gardens did to development in western Egypt

CAIRO - Despite the passage of 79 years since the battles of the Egyptian Western Desert during World War II (1939-1945), a heavy legacy left by the warring British and Italian forces is still strongly present through millions of mines that have transferred nearly a quarter of Egypt's total area (about one million square kilometers) to What some describe as the devil's gardens and the graves of development.

On October 23, 1942, the spark of the second battle of El Alamein (west of Alexandria), which lasted for nearly 20 days, broke out between the Allied forces (Britain, the United States and other countries) led by British Bernard Montgomery, and between the Axis forces (Germany, Italy and Japan) led by Erwin Rommel. Nicknamed "Desert Fox".

This was one of the most important decisive battles in defeating German leader Adolf Hitler and his allies from the Axis Powers in World War II. However, since that date, the area south of the northern coast and up to Egypt's western border with Libya has become more like a ticking bomb due to the presence of about 17.5 million mines from these remnants. battle.

This area exceeds a quarter of a million acres suitable for cultivation, and represents 22% of Egypt's total area of ​​about one million square kilometers, in contrast to the approximately 5 million and 500 thousand mines in the Sinai (northeast) left by the Egyptian-Israeli wars, according to official reports.

In total, there are currently approximately 22 million mines in Egypt, representing about 20% of the remnants of mines planted globally, noting that the Egyptian army - which is the only authority authorized to remove mines in the country - says that it has succeeded since 1995 in removing nearly a million and 200,000 mines.

In recent years, Egypt, according to previous statements by Minister of Investment and Local Development Sahar Nasr, has placed the sustainable development of the northwest coast region as a top priority for these resource-rich lands, which would create about 750,000 new job opportunities by 2032, and attract 6 million citizens for resettlement. In the region by 2050, of which currently is the new city of El Alamein, which was established after treating 151 km2 of land contaminated with remnants of war.

In 2016, the Egyptian government opened a center for the treatment of mine victims in the city of Marsa Matrouh.

Devil's Gardens

In the Second World War, Egypt (it won formal independence from Britain under the 1936 agreement) and Libya (it was occupied by Italy and then administered by the Allied countries) were the scenes of the desert war, the first phase of which ended with a major defeat for the Italians in the Battle of Bidham in eastern Libya in 1940.

In response, the Germans sent a force led by Rommel to assist the Italian forces. In June 1942, the “Desert Fox” won the Battle of Ain al-Ghazaleh, then seized Tobruk in eastern Libya, then advanced to El Alamein, which witnessed several battles, namely: the first battle of El Alamein, And the flag of Halfa, and the second flags.

The Second Battle of El Alamein was one of the battles that decided World War II in favor of the Allies, in which the British forces led by Montgomery defeated the German-Italian forces led by Rommel, and it is known as one of the most important tank battles in history.

During the battle, Rommel turned the El Alamein area into a defensive area, which he described as "Devil's Gardens", famous for its abundance of barbed wire and mines.

One of the beaches of the coastal Matrouh Governorate is witnessing a tourist shrine to Rommel's hideout in a cave that was the center of the Nazi leader's operations during the war, and includes a group of his private belongings, ammunition boxes and weapons dating back to his battles in North Africa.

The place also contains a set of documents and field and military maps for Rommel's operations in Western Sahara and El Alamein, and his correspondence with Hitler, according to previous observations by Al-Jazeera Net correspondent.

Development graves

As of April 2019, the United Nations estimated the number of Egyptian mine victims at 8,313, noting that there are still 3,646 square kilometers of land that has not been cleared, and until it is cleared, the residents of the area will remain at risk.

He was the last victim of a mine explosion last July in the border town of Salloum with Libya while a young man was walking over a mine, which led to the amputation of part of his right foot.

And a few weeks before that in the same area, 9 people were injured by a landmine explosion while they were trying to cross the Egyptian-Libyan border, on an illegal migration journey through the desert paths linking the two countries.

According to press reports , Western countries refuse to bear the legal responsibility for the mines in the northern coast and Matrouh, and are satisfied with moral responsibility, and the reason is that these countries have correspondences from previous Egyptian governments that excuse them from bearing this cost.

Egypt had previously asked the countries that planted mines in its lands to take responsibility for removing them, during the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1996.

The platform " Executive Secretariat for Demining and Development of the North Coast ", which was formed under an agreement signed between the United Nations Development Program and the Egyptian government in 2007, indicates that the remnants of the Second World War are prevented from reaching an area of ​​about 22% of the Egyptian territory, at a time when the Residents of this area use the polluted areas for farming, grazing, housing and going to school.

Obstacles to removing mines in Egypt:

The diversity of its types between anti-personnel and anti-tank.

It moved from its places because of the sand dunes.

Climate changes over half a century.

The disappearance or absence of its maps, and the high financial cost of removing them.

Lack of paved roads for mined areas.

Lack of modern equipment to be used in mine clearance.

The huge human burden associated with the demining process, and the lack of a sufficient number of experts.

Not including Egypt on the international mine action map.

Negative effects of mines in Egypt:

Obstructing tourism, industrial and agricultural development projects and establishing new urban communities.

Disruption of oil exploration operations.

Disruption of the Qattara Depression projects (a huge depression located in the Western Desert) as one of the giant projects for generating energy, due to mines blocking the canal road.