The unusual museum of live explosives was set up by Ismail Khan, a former governor of Herat province and a key commander during the 1979-89 anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan. The museum in Zendajan, 40 km from Herat, contained items collected around the city by mujahedeen groups, the fighters who resisted the Soviets.

``This was probably the most dangerous museum in the world,'' Le Soeur said. It was set up in 1992 to educate people living nearby about the dangers of unexploded bombs.

But Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia asked for the museum to be closed down, because there were schools and houses in the area.

``Had it exploded it would have caused hundreds or possibly thousands of casualties,'' Le Soeur said.

According to rough estimates, some 20,000 unexploded bombs dropped by Soviet planes during the war are still buried across Afghanistan.

``It could take 100 years to clear Afghanistan,'' Le Soeur said. ``As long as we have funding we want to continue to ensure that every bomb is destroyed.'' He said the operation, started by the Mine Action Programme of Afghanistan in September, was completed in about four weeks and without any injuries.

Le Soeur, who is technical advisor to the group, said the explosive devices were evacuated to deserted areas and detonated by members of his team. He said the several tons of highly explosive material included large aircraft bombs, as well as high-intensity cluster and fragmentation ordnance. In some cases the deminers placed the deactivated devices in pits and set fire to them, he said.

Demining takes up around 10 percent of the UN budget for Afghanistan. In its latest appeal for 2000, the United Nations has asked for $ 26.3 million for demining, out of a total $ 221 million for all Afghan operations.

Le Soeur said the threat posed by anti-personnel mines was higher than unexploded bombs. But children often fell victim to unexploded ordnance by unwittingly playing with the devices. ``People pick up, try to defuse and die,'' said Le Soeur. ``It's a great tragedy. They are not technically trained for the job.'' Khan, the museum's founder, is now in Taliban custody after the militia took Herat when their forces swept through the country in 1996.