Iraq: Basra sounds alarm, landmine threat escalates, demands action


The Basra Human Rights Office has called on the local government to implement key recommendations from the Landmine and War Remnants Victims Committee, urging immediate action to address the “growing threat” of unexploded ordnance, an official said on Tuesday.

Mahdi Al-Tamimi, the Office’s director, told Shafaq News that the Basra Provincial Council must activate the committee’s recommendations, which include holding urgent meetings with relevant authorities to resolve the longstanding issue. Al-Tamimi said, stressing that the issue requires “serious commitment from the Iraqi government and greater cooperation to clear minefields and war remnants.”

Read more...
Source: Shafaq News


Related:

  • Ukrainian troops are ‘using Taliban-style roadside bombs’ to destroy Russian tanks

    March 24, 2022

    The success of Ukrainian forces in deploying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) similar to those seen in the Middle East follows extensive military programmes run by British and American troops to bolster Kyiv’s military capabilities Ukrainian troops are claimed to be making devastating use of roadside bombs similar to those deployed by insurgents against British and American ...

  • France Renews its Commitment to Protecting Civilians impacted by Explosive Ordnance in Iraq

    March 22, 2022

    The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) welcomes an additional contribution of EUR 480,000 (approximately USD 550,000) from the Crisis and Support Center of the French ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs that will support life-saving mine action activities in Iraq. Activities will include survey and clearance of areas liberated from Da’esh contaminated with explosive ...

  • U.S. troops will likely be in Iraq for years to come, Central Command boss says

    March 18, 2022

    About six months after the U.S. ended its longest war, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command hinted that U.S. involvement in Iraq is probably going to go on even longer. As the 19th anniversary of Operation Iraq Freedom approaches, there are roughly 2,500 troops still in Iraq, playing a strict advise-and-assist role at the invitation ...

  • ​​UNICEF: 6 children killed by mines in February in Iraq

    March 15, 2022

    A total of six Iraqi children, all boys, have lost their lives due to explosive remnants of war (ERW) in February, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Monday. Moreover, UNICEF said explosive remnants had maimed ten children (nine boys, one girl). “ERWs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) remain one of the leading ...

  • Iraq: Construction workers found found IEDs inside walls of al-Nuri mosque in Mosul

    March 14, 2022

    The iconic 12th Century mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul is being rebuilt after ISIS nearly destroyed it five years ago. It’s now well under reconstruction — a symbol of the city’s comeback. Omar Taqa, the assistant site coordinator for the reconstruction of al-Nuri, says crews found 11 improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that hadn’t ...

  • How landmines prevent Iraq’s displaced people from returning home

    February 22, 2022

    With several million pieces of mines and explosives lying under the rubble and soil across Iraq, many internally displaced people prefer living in camps to returning home. “It happened to one of my uncles two years ago. As a shepherd, he used to take his flock out in the field. One day, he stepped on a ...

  • In Iraq, the Bitter Legacy of War Still Lies Hidden Underground

    February 12, 2022

    Like the neck of a giraffe, a minesweeping vehicle extends a serrated bucket forward and dips its teeth into the blighted earth. It drags the dry soil backward, sifting, before harvesting a jerrycan and gently placing it on the edge of a field. This is no harmless piece of trash; the container holds 20 liters (or ...

  • Iraq: Attack against a Global Coalition’s convoy thwarted in al-Diwaniyah

    February 9, 2022

    Iraqi Security Forces thwarted a roadside bomb attack against a Global Coalition’s convoy in al-Iskan area, al-Diwaniyah Governorate. The Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency in the Ministry of Interior discovered and defused two explosive devices planted alongside the highway in the Al-Iskan area. The devices were rendered safe on site by an EOD expert. https://twitter.com/SecMedCell/status/1491470283848441858 Source: Security Media ...

  • Iraq: One civilian, three troops killed in a bomb attack in al-Anbar

    February 9, 2022

    Three Iraqi soldiers and one civilian were reportedly killed in a bomb attack that targeted their vehicle in al-Rutba district, western al-Anbar, on Wednesday morning. A source told Shafaq News Agency that the soldiers were heading home on their leave when an explosive device detonated their vehicle in al-Sakkar area, killing them immediately. A civilian died in ...

  • Pushed into the shadows, Islamic State still has global reach

    February 4, 2022

    Since the peak of its power seven years ago, when it ruled millions of people in the Middle East and struck fear across the world with deadly bombings and shootings, Islamic State has slipped back into the shadows. Its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria folded under a sustained military campaign by a U.S.-led coalition, and ...