Mine continues to harvest Iraqis two years after the end of the war

Emad Al-Shammari-Arbil

The war in Iraq is still in place, with tens of thousands of mines being laid in the areas where the Islamic state has been expelled.

Rajab Sobhi, who lost his legs in a landmine in which hundreds of people with disabilities in Iraq were injured by mines.

He says that the roads, especially those surrounding the cities that are restored from state regulation, are like mine fields that have not been broken.

He said that he was one of hundreds who had fallen victim to these mines to be disabled as a sin tax. They are committing it.

Great suffering
"My father's amputation of my leg is a hindrance to the entire family," he told Al-Jazeera Net, Rajab's father, about how he felt about his son. "I and his mother have spent most of our time in his departments and we have to devote his time to his service and we are firmly convinced not to return to our existing city west of Anbar, In addition to the destruction of our home and the absence of compensation, we need to return to us the scattered mines another tragedy and then do not benefit regret. "

The government accuses many of them of taking no decisive action to clean up the liberated areas, especially outside the cities in the villages of agriculture, as stated by the Chairman of the Security Committee of the Anbar Provincial Council Naim al-Kaoud.

Al-Kaoud expressed his surprise at the performance of the government, which has signed contracts with a number of organizations and other American and foreign companies to dismantle the mines, but did not offer anything and the percentage of completion is like nothing.

He attributed the cessation of the clearance of cities from mines locally to the lack of resources and financial allocations in the provinces allocated to this matter.

militarily
Security forces are most familiar with the areas and types of mines deployed in cities, and their military effort is the first line to deal with them. But the lack of salvation is due to the number of large mines, which exceeds tens of thousands in some neighborhoods, according to the spokesman of the military information cell Brigadier Yehia Rasool.

Rasul explained that such mines take time, perhaps longer than expected due to poor support and reliance on volunteers in this area. He pointed out that the armed forces were forced to prevent the people of some areas from returning because of the mines deployed in them, which will undoubtedly exacerbate the file of the return of the displaced.

Al-Ka'ud pointed out that mines are an obstacle for a large proportion of displaced people in the camps who live in rural areas, far from urban centers.

Mounting
When UN agencies declare that 70% of the mines are estimated, according to Brigadier Rasool, tens of thousands of unexploded ordnance, the situation is alarming.

Al-Zaidi stressed that the proportion of victims in the increase is significant and statistics, although not accurate - because of the lack of this aspect of serious attention from the responsible authorities - but it records hundreds of deaths and injuries annually.

The director of the office of the Hope Organization for Human Rights, Sarud Mohammed confirmed the high rate of casualties, noting that during her recent visit to the areas of Hawija and Shorouk in Salahaddin province, about 100 new cases of disabilities were registered due to exposure to mines.

For his part, said an academic at the Faculty of Law, University of Tikrit d. The International Ottawa Convention classified Iraq as the largest contributor of mines deployed in and around cities. The reason was attributed to what the "terrorist gangs" planted in early 2014 after the fall of a number of provinces but the state organization following the withdrawal of the army leaving behind millions of dead victims and physically and psychologically disabled , And its incidents continue to worsen even after the departure of the organization.

He stressed that the law should have a decisive role in the face of this landmine, pointing to the right of those affected by lawsuits to ensure their rights in accordance with the provisions of Article 231 of the Iraqi Civil Code to hold the official accountable and compensate the victim.