Iraq prepares national landmine clearance plan as 8.5 million still live under threat


Iraq’s Ministry of Environment has prepared what it calls a comprehensive national strategic plan to address landmines and unexploded ordnance using modern technologies, as the country remains among the world’s most heavily contaminated, with nearly 35,000 Iraqis killed or injured by explosive remnants by the end of 2022 and around 8.5 million people still living under some level of threat.

The plan is based on humanitarian and development priorities with a focus on restoring life to affected areas and ensuring the safe return of citizens. Field surveys have been carried out “to determine the scale and type of contamination and establish accurate databases for areas contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance, with the aim of facilitating clearance operations and directing efforts according to levels of danger and population density.”

Read more…
Source: +964 News


Related:

  • Iraq: IED explosion kills Peshmerga officer, wounds seven others

    October 19, 2022

    In improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in the Garmiyan region of Sulaimani province on Wednesday, at least a Peshmerga officer was killed and seven others were wounded, the Kurdish force announced. The forces were deployed in Tawer Kawa village of Zinana and Palkana in Garmiyan as part of a sweeping anti-ISIS operation while the IEDs struck ...

  • Iraq: Car bomb kills PUK counter-terrorism official in Erbil

    October 7, 2022

    A car exploded in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil on Friday afternoon, killing the driver and injuring several others. The Region’s counter-terrorism directorate (CTD) said the explosion was due to a “sticky bomb” attached to the vehicle. The explosion occurred in Erbil city’s 32 Park neighborhood and targeted the car of a former Patriotic Union ...

  • Iraq: Australian embassy car hit by IED in Baghdad

    August 27, 2022

    An improvised explosive device in Baghdad’s Green Zone slightly damaged a vehicle belonging to the Australian embassy in Iraq on Friday, without causing any casualties, a security source said. A multi-car Australian embassy convoy was travelling through the high security Green Zone when the device went off, an Iraqi security source said, declining to be identified. The ...

  • Turkey: Two TSK soldiers killed in Op Euphrates Shield, one in Op Claw zone

    July 28, 2022

    Three Turkish soldiers have been killed in the Euphrates Shield and Claw zone operations the Defense Ministry has announced. The ministry said in a statement that two soldiers were killed after harassment fire opened in the Euphrates Shield Operation zone by the members of the terrorist organization. Another soldier, who was wounded due to the blast from ...