Oct 24, 2014

Iraqi Kurdistan: Land Mines a Cause for Concern


Photo courtesy of: DVIDSHUB@flickr

Iraq signed the Mine Ban Treaty in 2007 which, among other things, means pledging to clear all landmines within a decade. For Iraqi Kurdistan this has caused concern; as a semi-autonomous region they are legally obliged to uphold the treaty. However, since the region strives for greater autonomy from the central government, who de-facto signed the treaty in their place and under the rule of Saddam Hussein created the numerous minefields that exist in Iraqi Kurdistan, refuse to provide any financial backing to the region in order to assist the Kurds. The minefields have been a special cause for concern with the large amounts of internal refugee movements and there have been approximately 1,000 accidents involving the landmines since the start of the Islamic State insurgency.

To access the article published by Al-Monitor, please click here.