Kurdistan’s Duhok neutralises 400K square meters of former minefields
Shafaq News– Duhok
The Kurdistan Region has cleared nearly 400,000 square meters of land from mines and explosives in 2025, according to the Duhok Mine Affairs Directorate.
Reger Besfki, the Directorate’s spokesperson, informed Shafaq News that seven minefields in Duhok were fully demined, removing more than 1,700 explosive items. These included mortar shells, rockets, anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines, and improvised explosive devices (IED).
The directorate also handled 56 public reports of suspicious objects through its hotline and engaged 30 volunteers in community awareness campaigns to educate residents about the risks.
Verifying the safety of the cleared areas, teams further inspected and tested more than 58,000 square meters of land. In total, over 240 field visits were conducted across minefields, five new sites were added to the database, and information on 12 existing fields was updated.
Kurdistan, like other parts of Iraq, remains heavily contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance left from past conflicts. A 2024 report by the international organization Humanity and Inclusion, noted that 8,500,000 Iraqis live in areas containing explosive remnants of war and IEDs.
Since 2003, Iraq has identified more than 6,600 square kilometers contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war. About 4,540 square kilometers have been cleared, while over 2,000 square kilometers remain hazardous and require further demining.
