Clearing 50% of the areas contaminated with mines.. and the file will be resolved in 2028

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[size=52]Clearing 50% of the areas contaminated with mines.. and the file will be resolved in 2028[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Mustafa Al-Jourani[/size]
[size=45]Iraq entered the gates of the most polluted countries in the world with mines and unexploded ordnance as a result of the successive wars that the country has witnessed since 1980.[/size]
[size=45]The representative of Iraq in the international agreement to remove mines, Ahmed Abdel-Razzaq, said that "Iraq is unable to determine the date for the completion of the file of removing the remnants of war in the country, because the operations are continuing."[/size]
[size=45]Abdul Razzaq added, in a statement to Al-Mada, that "the concerned authorities continue to discover many foci of violations (explosive devices and clusters)."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "there are many factors that impede the completion of lifting mines, such as their erosion by torrents and others," expecting at the same time that "the year 2028 will witness the end of this file."[/size]
[size=45]Abdul Razzaq pointed out that "the areas of contamination with mines and war remnants amounted to 6,022 square kilometres," noting that "the remaining area of ​​pollution is estimated at 2,761 square kilometres, meaning that more than 53 percent of the general pollution in Iraq has been cleared."[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the financial cost of the operations, Abdul Razzaq explained, "Iraq is unable to calculate that cost because the polluted areas differ from one to the other, in addition to the different type of waste."[/size]
[size=45]He concluded his speech by saying that "the most polluted areas are the southern regions, especially Basra Governorate, then come the provinces liberated from the grip of the terrorist organization (ISIS) and then the provinces in the Middle Euphrates."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Vice President of the Organization for the Protection of Environment and Biodiversity in Al-Muthanna Governorate, Ahmed Hamdan, said that "mines are concentrated in Busayyah and Badiya districts, which constitute 90% of the total area of ​​the governorate."[/size]
[size=45]Hamdan added, in an interview with Al-Mada, that "contamination by war remnants has reached 25% of the area of ​​Busayyah district, while mines are concentrated in the areas of (Abu Ghar, Highway, Voice, Al-Hibaria, Busayyah, Al-Jada'a, Al-Azami, Abu Khuwaimah, Kharanj). border strip, Moghaizel, Aden, Al Shehiyat, Layeh, Atashana, Shelihbat, and Al Batiyah).[/size]
[size=45]Hamdan pointed out that "the remnants of war date back to the 1991 American and international coalition bombing, as about 4,000 people have been killed or disabled since the date of the bombing until today."[/size]
[size=45]The technical agent authorized with the powers of the Iraqi Minister of Environment, Jassem Al-Falahi, promised that Iraq is classified as one of the most polluted countries as a result of the proliferation of mines and explosive devices, attributing the reason for this to the Iran-Iraq war during the eighties of the last century and the effects of ISIS’s occupation of Iraqi areas.[/size]
[size=45]On the 17th of February, the Iraqi Ministry of Environment organized a conference, the second of its kind, organized by the Mine Action Department in cooperation with the General Foundation for Mine Action in the Kurdistan Region and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) with the aim of attracting the largest possible number of international donors to assist in various mine action. .[/size]
[size=45]In March, UNICEF reported that four children (three boys and a girl) died, and two others lost their limbs, during the past week, as a result of accidents related to explosive ordnance in two different locations in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]UNICEF indicated that these events occurred in the governorates of Babil and Baghdad, when children were performing their daily tasks, such as collecting firewood, expressing deep regret and sympathy to the children's families, friends and communities.[/size]
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