Security

Kurdish demining agency clears five million square meters of minefields in four years

The KRG has asserted that it has consistently supported victims of mines and other explosives. Over 54,000 victims received this multifaceted support between 2019 and 2023.

Kurdistan 24 2023/08/07 22:45

Some of the landmines seized by the Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA). (Photo: KRG)

Kurdistan minefields Kurdistan Region Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) cleared over 5 million square meters of minefields between 2019 and 2023 in the Kurdistan Region, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

From 2019-2022, 96 minefields were demined in the Kurdistan Region. The types of landmines included 10,212 anti-personnel mines, 43 anti-tank mines, and 51,979 other explosive remnants.

The KRG has asserted that it has consistently supported victims of landmines and other explosives. Over 54,000 victims received this multifaceted support between 2019 and 2023, the statement added.

Many of the landmines in the Kurdistan Region are located on the Iranian border. These landmines are a relic of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, as the Iraqi army specifically mined Kurdish areas to prevent Kurdish rebels from collaborating with Iran. Approximately half of those landmines remain 35 years since the end of the war.

With landmines populating 650 million square meters of land, Iraq has the most landmines of any country in the world, according to the international Landmine Monitor. Of the 650 million square meters, nearly half (314 million) are in the Kurdistan Region.