Antipersonnel land mines: a vector for human suffering.

Abstract

Editorials6 March 2001Antipersonnel Land Mines: A Vector for Human SufferingJames C. Cobey, MD, MPH and Nathaniel A. Raymond, BAJames C. Cobey, MD, MPHDr. Cobey and Mr. Raymond: Physicians for Human Rights; Boston, MA 02116Search for more papers by this author and Nathaniel A. Raymond, BADr. Cobey and Mr. Raymond: Physicians for Human Rights; Boston, MA 02116Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-134-5-200103060-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Antipersonnel land mines are an epidemic afflicting the world's poorest, war-wrecked nations, maiming and killing scores of civilians each year. Sleeping in the soil of over 88 countries, these mines are deadly remnants of past and present armed conflict (1). Not only do they kill or injure more than 2000 people per month, their very presence stymies efforts by developing nations to reclaim land for industry and agriculture.Although antipersonnel land mines date back to at least the U.S. Civil War, their use did not become widespread until World War II (2). In the 1960s, the United States, which used ...