100 years after WWI, unexploded bombs still litter northern France
France’s northern and north-eastern regions were devastated by World War I. So much so, that after the armistice the government declared large swathes of it a “red zone” – off-limits for habitation and agriculture. The former battlefield of Verdun is part of this zone.
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It was there that some 300,000 soldiers were killed in just 10 months in 1916.
And a century later, it is still littered with unexploded ammunition. A public safety issue that brings regional mine-clearing experts and forest rangers to the site every day.
Correspondent Claire Rush has this report from the Red Zone near Verdun.
WWI demining 100 years on
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