ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 5 million square meters across the Kurdistan Region’s minefields have been cleared of landmines since 2019, revealed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) mine agency on Monday, reiterating the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of its citizens and supporting victims of mines and explosives. The Mine Action Agency said that a total of 5,038,629 square meters had been de-mined across the Region’s four provinces over the past four years. The agency cleared over two million square meters in 2019, around 250 thousand square meters in 2020, about 700 thousand square meters in 2021, and more than two million square meters in 2022. The statement added that the KRG remains committed to supporting victims of mines and explosives, noting that over 54 thousand victims had received various forms of assistance between 2019 and 2023. “Assistance includes emergency medical care, natural therapies, prosthetic services, wheelchairs, physiotherapy, walking aids such as crutches and sticks, rehabilitation centers, financial support through income fund projects, and osseointegration procedures,” read the statement from the KRG. Iraq and the Kurdistan Region suffer from large numbers of landmines that remain scattered across the country to this day due to the Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War, the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition, and the occupation of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014. A vast area scattered with landmines needs to be cleared, otherwise it will continue to claim lives and leave civilians with long-term disabilities if not thoroughly cleaned. A report from the United Nations in 2022 said that over 519 children had been killed or injured in Iraq in the previous five years from explosive ordnance, adding that landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) remain one of the leading threats to children in the country.
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