Extract from 'Sahara Overland'
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This is a pre-publication extract from SAHARA OVERLAND which will be available in English and German from January 1999. This information may be freely used, distributed and translated with the following credit:
- © Chris Scott, Sahara Overland, 2000, www.sahara-overland.com -
H3/Mines ItÕs well known that certain areas of the Sahara are scattered with minefields, some dating back to WWII, but most laid during more recent conflicts. Anti-personnel mines will blow off your legs and possibly kill you if you step on one, but if you drive over such a mine, you could get away with just a ruined tyre. Larger anti-vehicle mines will damage or destroy both you and your vehicle. In In Search of the Sahara Quentin Crewe described driving his Unimog over a powerful mine near Nouadhibou in the 1970s. The heavy vehicle was destroyed but saved the occupants from injury. Every year, a few Sahara travellers set off mines, all known cases being in the areas listed below. The best way to avoid setting off a mine is to avoid known minefields altogether. However, if you canÕt or donÕt want to do that, hire a local guide to steer you through the danger zones. Guides are not infallible Ð and some, particularly on the return route from Mauritania back to Morocco, are outright charlatans Ð so try to get the name of a recommendation. If you decide to go it alone using someone elseÕs GPS waypoints to steer your course through a minefield, be aware that the slightest deviation could result in a fatal accident. Follow any existing tracks and be wary of any unnatural barriers across a piste. H4/Known mined areas in the Sahara Apart from the Atlantic Route (p.000) all the pistes in this book avoid mined areas so you should have little to worry about. Nevertheless, itÕs prudent to list the known locations of Saharan minefields, though this list should not be taken as a guarantee that mines do not exist elsewhere. Starting from the west, the lateral border between Morocco and Mauritania is mined. Even though by now everyone knows the risks of leaving the piste when crossing south accidents still happen. The danger is in the 8km or so between leaving the tarmac at Fort Guergarat and the first Mauritanian checkpoint on the old ÔSpanish RoadÕ. In parts this is a mass of tracks and there are no warning signs till later. In 1998 a Land Rover hit a mine just a couple of metres from existing vehicle tracks with one fatality. Stay on the clearest tracks. Sneaking back north into Morocco, even with a guide (see box below) is even more dangerous and travellers occasionally get caught. ItÕs very likely that the entire border north with Morocco is also mined from a time when Polisario raiders got as far south as Chinguetti. There are certainly mines alongside the LayounneÐBir Mogrein road; a Paris-Dakar truck caught one a couple of years ago. Still in Mauritania, areas east and south of Ouadane are also said to be mined although Route R3 to Guelb is safe but there are said to be mines north of the crater near the El Beyyid well and rock paintings. There are also mines between Algeria and Morocco in the Hammada du Draa region between Tindouf and Bechar, though no regular pistes cross this area. If they exist they are all well south of the Moroccan routes given in this book. Mali is thought to be mine-free as is Algeria. In Niger it was reported that Tuareg or Tubu rebels were laying mines in the DjadoÐKaouar region in 1997Ð8 but little more seems to have been heard of this other than there were some fatalities and the mines have allegedly since been removed. There have been no reports of explosions in this relatively well travelled area. Besides this, the far eastern reaches of the Seguedine-Zouar piste are mined around Col de Yei Lulu just before the Chad border. h5/Libya Libya has plenty of mines from both WWII and the recent war with Chad. German mines may still exist east of the line from Ajdabija (south of Benghazi) to Jalu as well as further south. A surveyor working in southeast of Libya reported that ÔMany areas of country to east of Kufra-Benghazi road are minedÕ but the run from Al Jakbub close to the border across a passable ÔneckÕ of the Great Sand Sea down to Kufra is becoming a popular off-piste excursion with no known reports of mines (se also ÔEgyptÕ below). An eyewitness report also describes mines blocking the track 15km along the old piste leading northeast from Al Tag (marked on the 953, close to Kufra). The same traveller also met a group of Lebanese mercenaries near Kufra in 1989 who warned him about proceeding west of Kufra, showing a map where many very large areas were marked with minefields. One region remembered very clearly was a large area about approx. 60-100km to the south of Wau en Namus. It may also be supposed that former military camps dating from the Chad war may have been protected by minefields which may still exist. Caution is advised in the Maaten es Sarra area (the direct route from Kufra to Ounianga in Chad) for instance. ItÕs also been reported that in the broad wadi plain leading from the tarmac road about 90km north of Sebha. southeast to the Sarir al Qattusah is mined (in 1989 a traveller was warned by a Libyan police patrol who followed). h5/Chad In southern Libya, north of the Tibesti between Sarir Tibesti and the Rebiana Erg in the Dohone region, the little known Passe de Klingue (N23¡ 16Õ E20¡ 01Õ) has mines from several periods. Modern anti tank mines located at the preceding grid reference destroyed a truck in 1991. The dangers of this area and how to detour round the Pass are described in both the French Gandini book (also available in Italian) and GottlerÕs Libyan guide (see p.000). Gandini also warns of several local mine fields in the Dohone long the pistes towards to Chad. Chad, or to be precise the BorkouÐEnnediÐTibesti region (BET) as far south as Faya and up to and beyond the Libyan border is the most mined region in the Saharan, dating from the Libyan war of the 1980s. Mines exist alongside tracks, some are well marked, others are unknown. Near the Libyan border the mines at the Passe de Korizo are well-known with a well developed alternative piste. Indeed there are recent reports of a truck hitting a mine on the track south of the Pass on the Arkiafera Plain north of Wour. Mines also wrecked a Unimog at N22¡ 19Õ E17¡ 25Õ on the way to Aozou and other tracks in this region are well known to be mined. There are mines around Ounianga Kebir and the piste northwest to Gouro as well as the piste between Faya and Fada through the Kora dunes (just above N18¡). They block the line of least resistance which everyone would follow and you must know the places to avoid by crossing a 50m-high dune belt. South of Ounianga Kebir the ominously named Wadi Doum (N18¡ 22Õ E20¡ 23Õ) Ð where the Libyans lost the war and now a Chadian military base Ð is littered abandoned military hardware, live ammunition and is heavily mined. Those minefields which are crossed by the clear piste are carefully fenced off with barbed wire. You may by quite safe staying on the piste but walking around to a look to the military equipment is dangerous. In this region as well as the western Ennedi it is wise to travel with an experienced guide. Even the sides of the well-used piste about 20km WNW of Fada are mined at a narrow passage. This list is far from exhaustive and sticking to previous tracks or travelling with a guide if coming down from Al Gatrun all the way to Faya seems to be the only advice. Guides however are not a guarantee that you will avoid mines which is why Chad is only visited by hardcore Saharans. h5/Egypt The Western Desert of Egypt fierce fighting in WWII and its northern part, between El Alamein and the Libyan border, as well as the Qattara depression, was heavily mined. All mines have been eliminated between the coastal road and the sea, but further inland any number may still remain. The Qattara Depression was never cleared, and both the German and the British armies have mined the northern parts, below the cliffs, to prevent the other from getting behind their lines. Given this situation, all parts of the Depression away from travelled roads and tracks are best avoided. The LRDG was also active further south, and they have mined most of the tracks leading to Kufra and Uweinat on the Libyan side. There are no substantiated reports of them having laid any mines on the Egyptian side, however. More recently, the tension between Egypt and Libya resulted in mining some of the border areas on both sides. At Jebel Uweinat there is a marked minefield (with large anti-tank mines) blocking the entrance of Karkur Talh (N22¡ 02' 45Ó E25¡ 07' 52Ó), and also at the low pass where the track skirts the northern spur of the mountain and continues towards the Libyan border (at N25¡ 02' 49Ó E22¡ 04' 33Ó). There are unconfirmed reports of mines at the pass between Peter and Paul, and mines may be expected at any easily blockable route close to the border. In February 1999 German tourists ran over a mine in the southern Gilf Kebir (fortunately no injuries, but the car was wrecked), at the western entrance of the Wadi Wassa (N23¡ 00Õ 10Ó, E25¡ 51Õ 20Ó), and it may be expected, that the western reaches of the Wadi el Firaq are also mined. There have been reports of the Aqaba Pass at the central Gilf Kebir being mined, however ascents in November 1998 and April 1999 confirmed the pass is clear. Reports also indicate that the western entrance of Wadi el Gubba in the Northern Gilf Kebir is also mined. Given above, itÕs sensible to follow recent vehicle tracks when close to the border (which means anywhere south and west of the Gilf Kebir, and west of the Great Sand Sea). Explore any narrow passes before driving through. The recent minefields placed by the Egyptian army are marked with posts and barbed wire, and small stone cairns. If you see any obviously man-placed object (piles of stones, big slabs, steel drum, etc.) directly across the track, this is likely to be a warning sign for mines. Thanks to Andras Zboray and Reinhart Mazur for help with this section. Any updates or corrections to this information will appear on the publisherÕs webspace for this book. www.sahara-overland.com
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CORRECZIONE, 1999, Sep 17
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