Iraq
An anti-personnel mine from the Iran-Iraq war in Penjwen, Sulaimani province, close to the Iranian border, June 2018. File photo: Robert Edwards/ Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The European Union will provide the United Nations mine agency with additional funding for mine removal in Iraq.
EU Ambassador to Iraq Martin Huth tweeted Friday morning that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) would be receiving $8 million US dollars in additional funding from the EU to clear the country of mines.
Large swathes of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region continue to be covered in land mines and other explosive hazards left during times of war.
ISIS regularly used mines and booby traps in Iraq and Syria when retreating from territory or when solidifying its foothold. Though they were declared defeated in Iraq in late 2017, the group’s deadly legacy continues to haunt locals in the form of lingering weaponry.
The Kurdistan Region’s border areas are littered with landmines, a legacy of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The Mine Action Agency estimates there are about 3,000 minefields and at least 13,456 people have been killed and injured by the munitions since 1991.
Dozens of people are maimed or killed across the Kurdistan Region by explosives each year. According to figures from the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Mine Action Agency, there have been about 13,400 mine explosion victims since the 1990s, including 3,000 deaths.
EU Ambassador to Iraq Martin Huth tweeted Friday morning that the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) would be receiving $8 million US dollars in additional funding from the EU to clear the country of mines.
EU is providing additional funding (8 MUSD) to UNMAS for removing mines in Iraq 🇪🇺🇺🇳🇮🇶
— Martin Huth 🇪🇺 🇮🇶 (@EUAmbIraq) July 30, 2021
Large swathes of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region continue to be covered in land mines and other explosive hazards left during times of war.
ISIS regularly used mines and booby traps in Iraq and Syria when retreating from territory or when solidifying its foothold. Though they were declared defeated in Iraq in late 2017, the group’s deadly legacy continues to haunt locals in the form of lingering weaponry.
The Kurdistan Region’s border areas are littered with landmines, a legacy of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The Mine Action Agency estimates there are about 3,000 minefields and at least 13,456 people have been killed and injured by the munitions since 1991.
Dozens of people are maimed or killed across the Kurdistan Region by explosives each year. According to figures from the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Mine Action Agency, there have been about 13,400 mine explosion victims since the 1990s, including 3,000 deaths.
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