A Tale of Two Clearances: Kurdistan Nears Demining Goal as Mosul Remains a Minefield
While the Kurdistan Region is nearing its goal of becoming mine-free, Mosul, eight years after its liberation from ISIS, remains a dangerous minefield for its citizens.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a stark and telling contrast that highlights a vast chasm in governance, capacity, and post-conflict recovery, the Kurdistan Region is now on the verge of completing its decades-long, arduous mission to clear its lands of the deadly legacy of mines and unexploded ordnance, while the city of Mosul, eight years after its liberation from the brutal grip of ISIS, remains a treacherous minefield where children play amidst war remnants and residents live under the constant, terrifying shadow of hidden explosives.
While demining teams in the Kurdistan Region are reclaiming vast tracts of land for agriculture, housing, and tourism, citizens in Mosul are looking upon their rubble-strewn, booby-trapped neighborhoods with a sense of grim resignation, some believing it will take another 20 years before their homes are safe again.
This tale of two vastly different realities within the same country paints a powerful picture of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) sustained and successful efforts to protect its citizens and reclaim its territory, a stark counterpoint to the slow and seemingly neglected process in federally controlled areas.
The progress in Kurdistan is a testament to a long-term, strategic commitment, while the lingering danger in Mosul serves as a tragic and daily reminder of the enduring and devastating costs of war, and the immense challenges that remain in the absence of a comprehensive and well-resourced clearance strategy.
Kurdistan's Great Stride Towards Safety
Over the past five years, the Kurdistan Region has made what can only be described as monumental strides in the painstaking and perilous work of demining.
The scale of the achievement is staggering.
In the province of Erbil alone, a massive one million and six hundred ninety-nine thousand square meters of land have been meticulously cleared of mines. Just this year, the methodical work of demining teams has resulted in the neutralization and destruction of 1,476 mines of various types, along with an astonishing 22,821 pieces of unexploded ordnance.
According to Ali Abdulrahman, the Direct Manager at Mine Action Affairs in Erbil, this is not just an exercise in removing danger; it is an act of national reclamation. He told Kurdistan24 that these newly cleared lands are not being left fallow but are being actively and productively put back to use, reintegrated into the economic and social fabric of the region.
They are being developed for the tourism, housing, and agricultural sectors, transforming former zones of death into areas of life, growth, and prosperity.
This year, demining teams have successfully cleared a total of nine minefields within the Erbil province and the independent administration of Soran, each cleared field representing a victory for safety and a new opportunity for development.
This progress in Erbil is a microcosm of a region-wide success story. Across the entirety of the Kurdistan Region, out of a total of 776 square kilometers of land that was once contaminated with mines, a remarkable 551 square kilometers—equivalent to approximately 60 percent of the total—have been completely cleared.
While 40 percent of the work remains, the KRG is now on a clear and determined path to achieving its ultimate goal of a mine-free Kurdistan. This progress has been made possible by the continuous and unwavering support of the KRG, which has consistently prioritized the process of clearing its soil of the deadly remnants of past conflicts.
The Lingering Nightmare in Mosul
Just a short drive away, across the administrative line that separates the Kurdistan Region from federal Iraq, a tragically different story unfolds.
In Mosul, a city that endured one of the most brutal urban battles of the 21st century to oust ISIS, the war is, in a very real and present sense, not yet over. Eight years after its liberation in 2017, large parts of the city have not been fully cleared of the vast and complex contamination of war remnants and mines, leaving its citizens to navigate a daily landscape of peril.
The frustration and fear among the residents are palpable.
Salima Yasir, a resident of Mosul, expressed her deep concern and a sense of abandonment. "After more than seven years, this is our situation," she said, gesturing to an area littered with the debris of war. "As you can see, this place is full of war remnants, and no one is taking action to clear it. Our children play here, and their lives are always in danger."
Her words are a haunting indictment of the failure to secure the most basic element of post-conflict recovery: the safety of the civilian population.
Another resident, Hamad Alawi, voiced a sense of profound hopelessness. He pointed to the fact that the intense bombing by airplanes and tanks not only destroyed their homes but left behind a deadly and persistent legacy of unexploded ordnance. His outlook for the future is bleak.
"These remnants will remain there for another 20 years," he believes, "because no party has responded to their requests." His statement reflects a deep-seated belief that they have been forgotten, left to live amidst the ruins and the risks with no clear path to recovery.
During the war against ISIS, the terrorist group engaged in a systematic and diabolical campaign of booby-trapping countless houses throughout Mosul, turning everyday objects and family homes into deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
While a large number of these have been cleared by dedicated and courageous teams, a significant part of the city remains fraught with the danger of these hidden mines and unexploded ordnance.
The scale of the problem is so immense that, according to a report by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Mosul will require "more than another 10 years" to be completely cleared of the remnants of war.
This stark disparity between the rapid progress in the Kurdistan Region and the protracted and dangerous situation in Mosul highlights the critical importance of sustained political will, dedicated institutional capacity, and effective resource allocation in post-conflict demining.
The KRG's success is a testament to its long-term strategic focus on this issue, viewing it not as a secondary task of reconstruction, but as a primary and essential precondition for all future development and the security of its people.
The ongoing plight of Mosul's residents, in contrast, serves as a tragic warning of what happens when that focus is absent, leaving a liberated but not yet safe population trapped in a limbo of fear and uncertainty for years, and even decades, to come.
