A general view shows an area recently cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance in a project to clear the area near Qasr Al-Yahud, a traditional baptism site along the Jordan River, near Jericho in the occupied West Bank, December 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ReutersQASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli and foreign engineers sounded the all-clear on Sunday around three churches on the western bank of the Jordan River, near where Jesus is believed to have been baptized, after mines that had marooned the shrines for decades were cleared. The river banks were once a war zone between Israel and Jordan, and were littered with thousands of landmines and unexploded ordnance. Work around the other four shrines - Syrian Orthodox, Coptic, Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic - would take months to complete, Israel said. The Halo Trust, a Scottish-based charity that has cleared minefields worldwide and was once sponsored by the late Princess Diana, has also been involved in the project near Qasr al-Yahud.

Source: Ethiopian News December 09, 2018 16:41 UTC