ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Roughly 40 percent of landmine-contaminated areas in the Kurdistan Region remain uncleared, a mine clearance official said on Monday, warning that vast stretches of the Region’s land remain dangerous for civilians, particularly in Erbil province.
Speaking to Rudaw’s Hiwa Jamal, the director of the Kurdistan Region’s Mine Actions Agency (IKMAA) in Erbil stated that “around 40 percent of areas littered with mines in the Kurdistan Region are yet to be cleared.”
Ali Abdulrahman added that the contaminated area spans nearly 250 million square meters, with 47 percent of it located in Erbil province.
Since the beginning of 2025, several civilians have been killed or injured in landmine explosions in Erbil province.
"Mines remain a significant threat to the citizens of Kurdistan. In previous years, approximately 14,000 people have died or been injured due to mines,” Abdulrahman said.
The Kurdistan Region’s rugged, mountainous terrain still harbors landmines dating back to the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1988).
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.
In late March, the head of IKMAA’s media department in Erbil, Rabar Anwar, cautioned people living near mountainous areas “to stay away from dangerous areas riddled with mines.”
He emphasized that landmines continue to hinder “the advancement of the economic, agricultural, tourism, and village reconstruction sectors.
Anwar added that the Kurdistan Region has “many shortcomings in terms of human resources,” noting, “We have nine manual demining teams in Erbil; we need more teams.”
IKMAA’s media representative further pointed out that the agency lacks adequate vehicles as most of its fleet is nearly 30 years old and no longer meet modern safety standards.
Last year, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) rented 48 vehicles for IKMAA, 12 of which were allocated to its Erbil branch, Adularahman detailed.
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.
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.
