ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations on Wednesday urged authorities in Iraq to investigate the recent improvised explosive device (IED) explosion that struck a demining team affiliated with the body in Nineveh the day before, stressing that the demining process will proceed but with added risk prevention measures. Seven personnel were slightly injured on Tuesday when the device exploded under a vehicle transporting a team of the Global Clearance Solutions (GCS), partner of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), according to a statement from the UN, adding that the wounded are currently in stable condition. “The United Nations in Iraq urged the authorities to thoroughly investigate the incident and ensure adequate security for the deminers,” read the statement. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday said that a total area of 680 thousand square meters of mine fields were cleared across the Kurdistan Region from June 2021 to June 2022, adding that 15 people were killed and 30 others were injured due to landmines in that same period. UNMAS and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated in April that over 519 children have been killed or injured in Iraq over the last 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. 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. The country is contaminated by a large number of mines and other IEDs deliberately left behind by the terror group.
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