Shafaq News/ Landmines and explosive remnantsof war (ERW) affect approximately 2,100 square kilometers of Iraqi territory—anarea equal to nearly 300,000 football fields—according to the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The contamination, resulting from conflictsincluding the Iran-Iraq War and the 2014–2017 campaign against ISIS, continuesto endanger civilians, displace families, restrict farmland access, and delayreconstruction efforts.
The ICRC recorded 78 casualties from landminesand ERW between 2023 and 2024. In early 2025, three students were killed in anexplosion in Abu al-Khasib, Basra.
Children remain among the most at risk. Onecase involved 11-year-old Hussein from Al-Qadisiyah, who lost a leg afterplaying with an unexploded device. Another incident in Nineveh involved a womannamed Sundus, who lost both legs after stepping on a landmine while fleeingconflict.
Demining teams face ongoing risks duringclearance. Noora Murad, a deminer in Sinjar, said the work remains dangerous.“My daughter cries every time I leave for work,” she said. “But we findsatisfaction when a cleared site becomes a school, or land is returned tofarming.”
In 2024, around 6,000 people attended in-personawareness sessions in high-risk areas. The ICRC also donated 2,440 units ofclearance equipment to Iraqi mine action authorities and civil defensedirectorates.
Marking the International Day for MineAwareness on April 4, the ICRC called for increased efforts to reducecontamination and support mine-affected communities. Clearance operationscontinue in cooperation with national authorities and humanitarian partners.
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