Slemani celebrates International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action

On the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the Mine Action Agency in Slemani organized activities on Monday to celebrate the day.

The activities included raising awareness and warnings of the dangers of mines and their forms and types by displaying photographs and the tools used to remove mines and the types and sizes of mines, in addition to a training presentation on how to search for mines.

Mohsen Abdul Karim, Director of the Mine Action Agency, told PUKmedia that "their Agency organizes activities every year on this occasion, which are aimed at spreading awareness among citizens about the dangers of mines that cover large areas of land in the Kurdistan Region.

On Monday, According to the Mine Action Agency, 255 square kilometers are not cleared of mines so far and the number of mine victims exceeds 13,000 citizens in the Kurdistan Region.

In 2004, the Mine Action Agency was established in the Kurdistan Region, which is an institution of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and has made a lot of efforts to clear the land of Kurdistan from mines, but the danger remains in the region.

Eight years of the Iraq-Iran war, the conflicts between the Peshmerga Forces and Saddam Hussein's regime and the ISIS occupation of many areas across the Kurdistan Region borders resulted in the contamination of enormous amounts of land by landmines and explosives, and they require years of hard work to be cleared.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations' International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed on April 4 each year. This day aims to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication.



Reported by Adnan Jaff
PUKmedia