UN mines expert says 3bn square metres littered with mines in Iraq
A United Nations mines expert has said that nearly 3 billion square metres in Iraq are contaminated with mines and remnants of war.
The head of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq, Pehr Lodhammar,said that “According to figures provided by the Iraqi government, the area contaminated with mines and remnants of the two wars in Iraq amounts to 2.9 billion square metres, of which 257.37 million square metres is in the northern Kurdistan region.”
He further stated that, the number of war remnants and other forms of explosive materials, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs), increased after Daesh took control of several Iraqi provinces.
Lordhammar explained that UNMAS has funded mines surveys in the governorates of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Anbar, Saladin and Diyala, and reported the areas suspected of contamination with mines as well as areas with confirmed contamination.
