YEREVAN (RFE/RL)‹The first group of Armenian sappers and other landmine experts graduated from a US-funded training center near Yerevan on Wednesday and are due to start de-mining operations in northeastern Armenia next month.

Fifty-six de-miners, six sniffer dog handlers, four medics and nine landmine impact specialists received their training certificates at a ceremony in Etchmiadzin attended by senior Armenian military officials and US diplomats.

The first training course started shortly after the opening in March of the Etchmiadzin-based Armenian Humanitarian De-mining Center as part of a $4.4 million program launched by the US State Department last year. Under an agreement between the US and Armenian governments the program will continue through 2004.

"We will continue to involve the strong support of the government of the United States which places a very high priority on humanitarian de-mining around the world," the US ambassador to Armenia, John Ordway, said in a welcoming speech. "We will train additional people and provide additional equipment."

"In fact, it is one of the fastest programs we ever got up and running anywhere around the world where we have done this type of work," Ordway added.

The training, involving modern mine-detecting equipment and sniffer dogs, has been conducted by a team of 19 US military officers as well as civilian specialists from RONCO, a US de-mining firm. Among them were nine Special Forces servicemen. The commander of the US training team, Captain Peter Vutera, heaped praise on his Armenian students.

"They are very intelligent, very high-quality soldiers. I've been extremely impressed with their performance over the last two months," Vutera told reporters.