ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An independent veteran deminer cleared more than 27 landmines, grenades, and artillery shells from Halabja province's Awesar village this week, highlighting the continued danger of war remnants from the Iran-Iraq war and ongoing civilian risk in rural areas.
Hoshyar Ali removed the unexploded items from Awesar village, near the Iranian border in Halabja province.
Ali told Rudaw English on Wednesday the explosives included Italian-made Valmara and VS-50 anti-personnel mines, Iraqi grenades, and artillery shells bearing markings believed to indicate Iranian origin.
The Kurdistan Region's rugged terrain remains heavily contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), later clashes between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2017.
Under a 2024 agreement, Iraq's Directorate for Mine Action (DMA) and the Kurdistan Regional Government's Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) are cooperating on technical support for clearance operations through 2028.
According to the DMA, demining teams had cleared 4,540 square kilometers of contaminated land across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region since 2003 as of August 2024. However, more than 2,000 square kilometers remain contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance.
Ali said residents frequently contact him after discovering explosive remnants in their communities, asking him to safely remove and dispose of them.
Who is Hoshyar Ali?
Ali, a veteran deminer from Biyawella village in Halabja province, said he has spent more than four decades clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war across the Kurdistan Region.
Born on July 1, 1963, Ali began demining work in the early 1980s, focusing primarily on explosives left behind by the Iran-Iraq War. He said much of his work has been carried out independently and without official support.
Ali has paid a heavy personal price for his work. In 1989, he lost a leg after stepping on an mine in Halabja's Bamo area while assisting Peshmerga movements toward Garmyan in the southern Kurdistan Region. Five years later, he lost his other leg in Sulaimani's Penjwen district after triggering a mine during a clearance operation.
Despite his injuries, Ali continued clearing mines and unexploded ordnance. He later moved to Japan, where he lived for 12 years before returning to the Kurdistan Region to continue his work. Residents in Penjwen named several public places, including a mosque and a school, in recognition of his service and sacrifice.
Ali said he received demining training from Iranian border police during the 1980s, helping him develop the skills that would define his life's work.
Since 2006, he has maintained a personal museum in Biyawella village displaying mines, grenades, and artillery shells from various countries, including Italy, Norway, France, Iran, the US, and Israel.
According to Ali, he has cleared more than 20,560 mines and explosive devices throughout his career and helped save more than 165 people from mine-related dangers.
Hero Rashid wrote this article.
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