TOKYO - Twenty countries including Japan and the United States pledged US$27,2 million on Tuesday for the removal of landmines from Afghanistan, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world.

"Countries committed an additional US$27,2 million," a senior US government official told reporters in a briefing, adding that this latest pledge raised the total international contribution to the de-mining of Afghanistan to US$60 million.

The money was pledged on the sidelines of an international aid meeting in Tokyo, at which donors pledged more than US$4,5 billion to rebuild Afghanistan.

Twenty countries, four international organisations and Afghan NGOs took part in the landmine session.

Removing landmines from populated areas, agricultural land and roads is seen as key to the long-term reconstruction of Afghanistan.

The United Nations estimates that between five million and 10 million landmines litter the country, killing or maiming 10 people every day.

Most of the mines were placed by Soviet Union forces during a decade-long armed occupation of Afghanistan which ended with Moscow's retreat in 1989. - Nampa-Reuters