DELEGATES from 53 countries, including 40 African states, are expected in the Malian capital Bamako for a meeting on implementing the 1997 Ottawa convention against landmines. The two-day pan-African meeting, initiated by Mali with support from France and Canada, is aimed at devising a “concrete strategy” in the campaign to eliminate landmines. Of the estimated 60 to 200 million mines in the world, more than half are in Africa. Of the 41 African countries that signed the Ottawa convention, 30 have ratified it so far. – AFP