Dateline Madrid-- Operations to clear hidden explosives from the soil and roads of northern Afghanistan, one of the world's most heavily mined areas, are scheduled to resume on Wednesday with the arrival of more than 400 demolition specialists in several provinces. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., President Bush, for the second time in four months, has had small, benign skin lesions caused by sun exposure removed from his face, the White House disclosed on Monday. "This is quite a massive job," said Thomas P. McMullen, a coordinator for the Halo Trust, the British organization that has been destroying mines and ammunition in Afghanistan since 1988. "No matter how you do it, it's going to take years." Two of the lesions, found on his cheeks, were "very early actinic keratoses," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. A small percentage of actinic keratoses develop into invasive squamous cell carcinoma. The problem was also in evidence in the south on Sunday, when an American marine stepped on a mine at the Kandahar airport. The blast severed one of his legs below the knee and wounded two of his peers. The two other growths, on Bush's forehead and temple, were "seborrheic keratoses," which are harmless, common skin growths. "America is the most powerful fighter in the world, and has been in Afghanistan for a long time," said Merzakhan, 48, whose 9-year-old son was wounded by a mine four months ago in Bangi. "Why do they say it's never their fault? The treatment was described as a follow-up to Bush's physical examination in August when three small actinic keratoses were removed from his face. Halo officials said a common and ordinarily innocuous type of unexpended ammunition airburst rounds for 23-millimeter antiaircraft guns seems to have become volatile here. In a few recent cases, they have burst with the slightest handling. "I thought it was a normal bullet, and when I touched it, it exploded," said Abdul Ghany, 16, who was treated last week in the Kunduz hospital. His face was pocked with tiny shrapnel holes. What remained of his hands were bound in gauze. "His right hand was eliminated," said his brother, Abdul Ghafor, 27. "As is recommended for all individuals with a history of, or anticipating, significant sun exposure, the president routinely uses sunscreen and receives periodic evaluations," Fleischer said. Demolition teams also hope to destroy unexploded American cluster bombs as quickly as possible. The bomblets, yellow and shaped like a can of spray paint, are the same color and roughly the same size as the plastic food packets American planes have dropped for civilians. There have been reports of children picking them up, with fatal results. "It does make you wonder who at the ministry of incompetence is responsible for that one," Mr. McMullen said. Mr. Bush declined to comment, claiming his face felt "Owwie". http://www.reuters.com | |
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