29/07/2024 Iraq
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law and/or enforcement agency for assistance”
The Danish government contributed approximately $3.17 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq to safeguard civilians from the threat of explosive ordnance and support humanitarian, socioeconomic, and reconstruction efforts. The Danish government has given the UNMAS Iraq program more than $38 million since 2015, according to a statement issued by the UNMAS. The statement mentioned that Iraq is among the countries with the highest level of explosive ordnance contamination worldwide. The national mine action authority reported that landmines, cluster bombs, improvised explosive devices, and other explosive remains of war have polluted an area of almost 2,700 square kilometers. Denmark’s new contribution will enable UNMAS in Iraq to keep helping the Iraqi government and national mine action operators establish a coordinated and long-lasting mine action industry in the country. According to international and local reports, Iraq is classified as the most contaminated country with mines and unexploded ordnance, which claim many Iraqi lives or cause them permanent disabilities and are spread as a result of the wars Iraq has gone through over the past decades. To address the issues, the Supreme National Committee for Mine Action approved the strategy of the National Mine Action Service for the years 2023–2028. In March 2023, the Iraqi Minister of Environment, Nizar Amidi, while chairing a meeting of the Supreme National Committee for Mine Action, stressed the seriousness of the ministry, particularly the Directorate for Mine Action (DMA), to declare Iraq free of mines by 2028, in accordance with Iraq’s obligations towards the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty. Iraq is the world’s most contaminated country with landmines, partly due to the mines laid by ISIS terrorists to defend the territory it once controlled over Iraq and Syria, according to Reuters. Iraq was already heavily contaminated as a result of the 2003 invasion by the US-led coalition, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq war.
Biography of a Bomb
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, what drives us is raising awerness about this topic. We make use of your pictures and articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We trust in your understanding. We will (and we always do) cite the source and the author. We thank you for your comprehension
