Kurdistan Region records over 30 causalities to mines last year

Seven more people were killed by the remnants of the explosives last year, according to the Agency.
Clearing a minefield in Rashawiri in Duhok’s Zawita sub-district (Photo: General Directorate of Mines and Explosives in Duhok archive photo) 
Clearing a minefield in Rashawiri in Duhok’s Zawita sub-district (Photo: General Directorate of Mines and Explosives in Duhok archive photo) 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The remains of decades-old explosives in the Kurdistan Region have killed or wounded over 30 people in 2022, according to figures published by the mines' authority.

A total of 24 people were wounded by unexploded mines across Iraq’s Kurdish region last year, mostly in the border areas with neighboring countries that had witnessed numerous battles, including the eight-year Iraq-Iran war, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Mine Action Agency reported on Thursday.

Seven more people were killed by the remnants of the explosives last year, according to the Agency.

In cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the mine-clearing authority has dismantled over two million improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines, it added.

More than 1.6 million square area and 45 minefields were cleared of mines last year.

Decades after the cessation of conflicts, the deadly legacy still kills and wounds villagers in the border areas. Rural people have abandoned their farming lands due to the persistent risk of the explosives.

According to the Agency, more than 13,000 people have been killed by these deadly explosives so far.