Sappers to check over 5,000 hectares of farmland in Chechnya

MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Sappers of the Southern Military District have removed mines from over 100 hectares of farmland over the past two months, Southern Military District spokesman Col. Igor Gorbul told Interfax-AVN on Wednesday.

"Since March, when work began to remove mines in Chechnya, over 300explosive devices and a large amount of ammunition have been removed and defused," he said.

Mine-clearing operations are underway in five district of Chechnya simultaneously - in the Groznensky rural district, and in the Shelkovskoi, Urus-Martan, Kurchaloi and Shali districts, he said.

"Overall, more than 5,000 hectares of farmland will be checked," Gorbul said.