Landmines…still a threat in Kurdistan Region

Kurdistan 12:06 PM - 2021-06-26

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For many years, Kurdistan Region and Iraq have been the hot spot of ongoing wars and conflicts, and these conflicts have left the Kurdistan Region amongst the most contaminated regions by landmines and explosive remnants of war.

 

Eight years of Iraq-Iran war, the conflicts between Peshmarga 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.

 

Landmines and explosives have killed thousands of people and injured many others in the Kurdistan Region during the last forty years, and the threat is still ongoing. According to Jabar Mustafa, Head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency, the number of dead and injured civilians due to landmine explosions has reached 13450.

 

Amongst the injured is Hoshyar Ali, known as the Mine Man, who despite losing his both limbs, he says he will not retire. He spent more than 30 years defusing mines voluntarily and still continues.

 

Ali said, "When I became a Peshmarga in 1986 my job was to defuse landmines to protect my fellow partisans, and I lost one of my legs during that time," adding, "I lost my other leg while clearing a minefield for some villagers near Penjwen in 1994."

 

"Every time I defuse a mine I feel like I have saved a life," Ali added.

 

Hoshyar Ali has defused more than two million mines since he started, and he wishes to open a museum to show his carrier and educate others about the dangers of landmines. 

 

There are also brave women that work in clearing minefields. Amsha Haskani is a Yazidi survivor of ISIS, and she is working with the Mine Advisory Group in Sinjar. According to BBC, aged just 16, Amsha was abducted by ISIS in 2014 and held captive for a year, but now at the age of 23, she is contributing in clearing the areas in Sinjar that ISIS contaminated with landmines. 

 

“I want to tell my story to highlight the plight of Yazidis. But also to show the world the strength of Yazidi women; they can do different types of work. I want to show the world that despite the adversities we have been through, we are clearing our communities and rebuilding areas and we have made progress,” Haskani said in a statement to BBC.

 

Minefields and clearance operations 

 

According to the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency, most of the minefields have been planted during the Iraq-Iran war 1980-1988.

 

Jabar Mustafa, Head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMA), claimed that 776 square kilometers of land in Kurdistan Region have been contaminated by landmines and explosives since the early 1980s, adding that through Kurdistan Regional government and NGOs' clearance operations, they were able to clear about 500 square kilometers of contaminated land throughout Kurdistan Region.

 

"We run clearance operations throughout the whole region, but the focus is more on the surrounding areas of Sulaymaniyah and Garmian provinces since most of the minefields are located in there," Mustafa said.

 

Local and international demining agencies are working in the Kurdistan Region. Humanitarian demining operators aim at land release and consequently target residential and agricultural areas, but private demining operators are often working for oil and gas companies to secure their installations.

 

The effects of landmines and explosive remnants of war 

 

Many people have lost their lives due to the landmines, and many others lost their beloved ones. There are also a huge number of people that became disabled through contact with landmines and explosives in the Kurdistan Region.

 

Landmines also have had a huge effect on agriculture in the Kurdistan Region since most of the areas that are contaminated by landmines are suitable for agriculture but cannot be accessed, according to UNMAS report. 

 

 

 

PUKmedia