The Duke of Sussex has mirrored his mother Princess Diana by crossing a minefield in Angola.
Prince Harry spoke to families who live near Africa’s largest minefield as part of HALO’s community outreach programme, which aims to keep people safe from landmines until they are cleared by trained experts.
The Duke repeated phrases in Portuguese, including ‘stop, go back and tell your elders’ to prevent children from detonating lethal devices left behind from the civil war which ended in 2002.
His crossing of the cleared minefield mirrors Princess Diana’s in January 1997, when the nation experienced a brief period of peace following a two-decade civil war that had left the country contaminated by more than 15 million landmines.
Harry said: ‘Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day.’
The Duke added: ‘The Angolan government’s continued commitment is a powerful testament to HALO’s success in saving lives and reducing humanitarian risk.
‘We thank President Lourenço for his leadership and partnership, as well as continued donor support as we work together towards completing the mission of a landmine-free country.’
At least 60,000 people have been killed or injured by landmines in Angola since 2008, although the exact number of casualties is not known and is likely to be higher.
HALO has cleared more than 120,000 landmines and 100,000 bombs from the country, but at least 80 Angolans have still been killed by them in the last five years.
Over 1,000 minefields remain to be cleared across the entire country, including on the periphery of the Lobito Corridor, a strategically important railway that links Angola’s Atlantic coast to the mineral heartlands of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
James Cowan, CEO of The HALO Trust, said: ‘We are hugely grateful to President Lourenço for his leadership and to the Duke of Sussex for his personal commitment to HALO’s work in Angola.
‘This new contract is an important step forward in our mission to make Angola mine-free, and we will continue our work in solidarity with the Angolan people until every last mine is cleared.’
