The Kuwaiti government on Saturday donated 60 prosthetic legs to Iraqis who lost limbs during the war with the Islamic State (ISIS).
As part of the “Kuwait is With You” campaign, the Kuwaiti Consul General to Erbil Omer al-Kandari distributed the artificial limbs and later took part in a friendly football match with recipients, which was arranged at the Handren Club stadium in Erbil.
"We carried out this humanitarian campaign as the first activity of the Kuwait national team under 'Kuwait is with you'," al-Kandari told Rudaw. "In this campaign, we donated [60] prosthetic legs and hands and we have tried to benefit as many people in need as possible including our brothers from the Peshmerga forces."
Some Peshmerga soldiers were among the amputees who received prosthetic legs, as were displaced Iraqis living in Erbil.
Kuwait launched the program in early August 2017 to treat Iraqis in Erbil who lost limbs during the fight against ISIS.
The Kuwait national team, which is taking part in the West Asia Cup, is currently training in Erbil.
The 2019 West Asian Football Federation Championship, also called Asiacell WAFF Championship, is being hosted by Iraq.
FIFA, the international governing body of association football, lifted the ban on Iraqi stadiums hosting international matches on March 16, 2018. Erbil, Karbala, and Basra each have stadiums capable of hosting international level games.
The ban was imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. FIFA lifted the ban in 2012, but reinstated it after a power outage at Erbil stadium during a match between Iraq and Jordan.
Photos by Mahdi Faraj