ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Around two million square meters of land littered with mines and unexploded ordnance have been cleared across the Kurdistan Region over the past seven months, a local official said on Monday, adding landmines have claimed the lives of ten people during the same time period.
"Our efforts are ongoing to clear the entirety of landmine-contaminated areas of the Kurdistan Region," Jabar Mustafa, head of the Kurdistan Region's Mine Actions Agency (IKMAA), told Rudaw, adding that "two million square meters of land have been cleared of mines over the past seven months."
Iraq and the Kurdistan Region continue to grapple with the legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance left behind by decades of conflict, including the Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 Gulf War, the 2003 US-led invasion, and the Islamic State’s (ISIS) brutal reign over large parts of the country’s north and west between 2014 and 2017.
Mustafa said landmines have killed ten and wounded another 16 over the past seven months.
Mines remain a significant threat to the people of the Kurdistan Region. In previous years, approximately 14,000 people have died or been injured due to mines, according to Mustafa.
According to Mustafa, three million square meters of land were cleared of mines in 2024, and two million square meters in 2023.
"We predict we will be able to clear more lands of mines compared with last year and two years ago, as we have ramped up our full efforts," he explained.
More recent conflicts, specifically between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) along the Kurdistan Region’s borders, have also left behind explosive remnants, with some minefields located just a few hundred meters from villages.
The Iraqi Directorate for Mine Action (DMA) and IKMAA have been cooperating under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2024, outlining their mutual technical support until 2028.
