Ahead of work on tunnel
Mine clearance operation launched in Duhok’s Spindar village
DUHOK— The General Directorate of Mine Action in the Kurdistan Regional Government has begun a mine and explosive clearance operation in Spindar, a village within Duhok’s Chamanke sub-district.
Regr Besifki, a spokesperson for the Directorate, informed 964media that this operation follows the successful removal of 80 mines from a 120,000 square meter area in the Zawita sub-district, another strategic location earmarked for tunnel construction.
The region remains littered with landmines and unexploded ordnance, leftovers from decades of conflict, including the eight-year Iran-Iraq War and skirmishes involving the former Iraqi Baathist regime and Kurdish fighters.
“The new clearance effort in Spindar covers a 15,000 square meter area, and we expect the work to take about three months,” Besifki noted.
Within Dohuk governorate alone, 773 areas are mined. Of these, 370 have been cleared to date.
According to the Kurdistan Mine Action Agency, approximately 776 square kilometers across the region are mine-contaminated. Since demining began in 1992, about 60% of this area has been cleared, leaving 258 square kilometers still affected. Landmine risks are particularly high in the Sulaymaniyah governorate and along other border areas, including Penjwen, Soran, Choman, Halabja, and Garmiyan.
“We’re hampered by a lack of transport vehicles,” Besifki added. “This has kept us from accelerating the clearance work, limiting our active teams to just two out of six.”
Landmines have caused over 13,400 casualties in the Kurdistan Region from the 1990s to mid-2021, encompassing both deaths and debilitating injuries.
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