Prince Harry issues statement after continuing Princess Diana's most dangerous mission: 'Breaks my heart'

The Duke of Sussex has described feeling heartbroken over the plight of young children living in danger of being killed or losing a limb as he returned from a landmark visit to Angola, following in his late mother's footsteps.

Prince Harry recently travelled to the African country to continue the work of Diana, Princess of Wales, who famously walked through a minefield 28 years ago.

The 40-year-old was there to see the work being carried out by the Halo Trust, which Diana had supported just months before her death in 1997.

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Prince Harry is patron of the Halo Trust and visited Angola in 2019 and in 2013.

He was there again last week to hear about the charity's latest efforts to clear landmines from Cuito Cuanavale, the largest battlefield of the country's civil war which ended in 2002.

More than 80 people have been killed by landmines in the past five years despite the charity clearing more than 120,000 of the devices from fields.

There are an estimated 1,000 minefields that are yet to be removed, the charity says.

Children playing in fields are often the victims, losing limbs or dying when the devices explode.

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Upon returning to California this week, Prince Harry issued a statement about his historic mission.

"As a father to young children, it breaks my heart to see innocent children still living and playing next to minefields," the duke said.

"All of us have a duty to protect children and future generations from the harms of war, both present and past."

His children Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, remained at home with their mother Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

While in Angola, Prince Harry took part in a landmine safety education session in the remote village of Mawano.

He gave safety instructions in Portuguese, teaching local children how to recognise and avoid landmines.

In 2013, during another visit to Angola, Prince Harry walked through an active minefield that has since been cleared and transformed by the Halo Trust.

The duke thanked the Angolan government for committing to support the clearing of landmines under a new three-year deal.

"This commitment is about more than removing deadly devices," he said.

"It's about unlocking potential in a country that has so much – enabling children to walk to school safely, allowing farmers to grow crops, attracting sustainable development and bringing back wildlife tourism."

Princess Diana's visit to Angola in 1997, just months before her death in Paris, brought about lasting change, which Prince Harry is committed to continuing.

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She was there to highlight the threat posed by landmines after the country's civil war and soon after, the Ottawa Treaty had been signed by 122 countries, with the signatories agreeing not to produce or use landmines.

Now, more than 165 countries have signed the treaty but the US, China, India and Russia are among the 32 United Nations members who refuse to be bound by it.

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