Northern Iraq is one of
the most heavily mined areas in the world. Millions of mines were sown in the
region by the Iraqi army in the years prior to the 1991 Gulf
War.[1] Northern Iraq remains
under the control of two main Kurdish factions, the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Periodic fighting between the
two factions has involved the use of landmines which have occasionally hindered
the distribution of United Nations relief
work.[2] The region has been
autonomous from Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War when the United States set up a
“safe haven” for Iraq’s Kurdish population. There is no
formal diplomatic recognition of Iraqi Kurdistan or the KDP or PUK.
With no international recognition, neither faction has been able to sign the
Mine Ban Treaty. However, Dilshad Miran, the London representative of the KDP
said, “We are totally against landmines in all their forms.... They
destroy people’s lives in the region and hinder
reconstruction.”[3]
Recent Use
There is credible evidence that landmines continue
to be used in northern Iraq, albeit on a limited scale during the periods of
factional fighting that have engulfed the region. Since 1991 there has been
sporadic fighting in the region which has involved the KDP, PUK, the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK), the Iraqi military and the Turkish military. In
1997, for example, the PUK laid antitank mines along the road stretching through
the Balisan valley to halt the advance of the Turkish
tanks.[4] According to UN
representatives mines have also been laid between the frontlines of the KDP and
PUK after clashes.[5]
The situation has been complicated by the presence of the PKK in northern
Iraq. The PKK uses the Iraqi border as a base to launch assaults against Turkey
and regularly clashes with the KDP. Fighting for Kurdish autonomy in
southeastern Turkey, the PKK presence has repeatedly brought the Turkish
military into the region. The KDP have accused the PKK of laying mines in the
region; reports have suggested that the roads between Sarsang and Amadiyah have
been mined by the PKK.[6] The
majority of reports of new use revolve around mines allegedly laid by the PKK
in the border region which have hindered Turkish military operations against the
PKK.[7] In May 1997, for example
12 Turkish soldiers were reportedly killed by PKK landmines in northern Iraq on
the Iraqi side of the border.[8]
While mines apparently continue to be used, the numbers are small compared to
the vast number of mines laid by the Iraqi government, which remain the mainstay
of the problem in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Landmine Problem
Large swathes of northern Iraq remain heavily
mined. The U.S. State Department estimated in 1993 that there were five to ten
million landmines in Iraq; by 1998 it estimated that there were ten million
mines in Iraqi Kurdistan.[9]
The most heavily mined area is the Halabja region along the border with Iran.
Mines have been placed in a vast number of different places ranging from roads,
power lines, grazing land, depopulated villages and former military barracks
used by the Iraqi army. All in all there are several thousand minefields of
various sizes that have been charted by agencies involved in clearance.
Landmines have prevented the return of refugees and displaced persons,
particularly in the area bordering Iran. The most vulnerable people are farmers
living in rural areas, livestock herders and children unaware of the dangers of
mines.[10] Mines also contribute
to a cycle of poverty in the region. People unable to return to their villages
are forced to remain without employment in towns. The presence of mines also
hampers reconstruction efforts in destroyed villages as every mine has to be
cleared before villagers can return in safety. Those who do try and return to
their villages are often maimed or killed by mines if the area has not been
cleared.[11] If any records
exist they are in the hands of the Iraqi government and are not available to
outside inspection. The four governorates in Iraqi Kurdistan have respectively
1,278 minefields (Sulaymanya governorate), 549 minefields (Erbil governorate:
specifically in the districts of Chorman, Soran and Merga Sor), 295 minefields
(Dohuk governorate: specifically in the districts of Amedia, Duhok and Zakho),
201 minefields ( New Kirkuk governorate: specifically in the districts of
Khanqin, Darbanikhan and
Chamchamal).[12] The greatest
concentration of mines, though, is along the Iran-Iraq border, specifically in
the districts of Penjwin, Sharbazher and
Qaladiza.[13] In 1993, Middle
East Watch surveyed fifteen minefields where there was an absence of signs and
where the minefields were located near land utilized by civilians for farming or
other purposes. Shirawash, Sardekan Hill, Derband Gorge, Konyarasukosa,
Nowpredam, Eenay, Pirdi Kashan, Chapazra, and Zakho are but a small sample of
the minefields scattered throughout northern
Iraq.[14]
Other mined areas include: former Iraqi military installations, destroyed
villages, grazing/agricultural areas, and
roads.[15] Of primary
importance, though, are the number of villages affected by mines. According to
the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), 800 villages are affected by mines, which makes
up nearly 20% of the rural area in the
region.[16]
MAG indicates the following landmines have been found in northern
Iraq:[17]
Type Origin
T72 China
No. 4 Israel
SB33 Italy
TS50 Italy
VS69 Italy
VAR40 Italy
VS50 Italy
VST Italy
PMD6 Russia
POMZ Russia
PSM1 Russia
PMN Russia/Iraq
M14 USA
M16 USA
M18 USA
PROM1 Yugoslavia
Mine Clearance
Under the UN brokered deal of oil for food with
Baghdad, US$16.5 million was allocated for mine clearance and surveys in Iraqi
Kurdistan in 1998. The funds were earmarked for the United Nations Office of
Project Services (UNOPS), which is involved in mine clearance in the
region.[18] A number of
countries have donated mine action support funds, including Denmark, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European
Union.[19]
There are three agencies involved in clearing mines in northern Iraq: MAG,
Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA), and UNOPS. All the agencies operate with the
cooperation and help of the local regional authorities - either KDP or
PUK.[20]
MAG has cleared 1.2 square kilometers of land in ninety-six minefields,
removing 37,000 landmines and 143,493 pieces of
UXO.[21] The priority has been
given to areas of habitation, transport and greatest population density. Border
and uninhabited areas are given a low priority.
Although the local authorities are providing protection, threats to demining
organizations exist in the region. Baghdad has demanded the withdrawal of MAG
and NPA from the region, claiming the organizations are working illegally in the
area. In December 1998, Iraq sent a letter to the Secretary General of the UN
stating that it opposed the mine clearance because it violated Iraq’s
sovereignty and national integrity, and requested that the deminers be
removed.[22] Booby traps have
also been attached to cars belonging to demining personnel in the
region.[23]
Mine Awareness
All known mined areas in the region are marked
either by signs or by strips of wire placed along the mine affected
area.[24] MAG runs a mine
awareness program which operates throughout the region, visiting villages,
collective towns and schools. As part of this program, MAG developed a
“Safer Village Strategy” which involves communities in finding
nontechnical solutions to landmine problems and targets mine clearance resources
to areas of greatest need.[25]
MAG has worked with UNICEF and local officials to produce a mine awareness book
for schools to help children identify landmines and teach them how to avoid
them.[26]
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
According to MAG, a total of 5,394 people have
been injured and 2,933 killed by landmines since
1991.[27] Mine casualties have
been declining significantly in the region since
1991.[28] In 1998 forty people
were killed and 207 were
injured.[29] The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Iraqi Red Crescent run victim
assistance centers and orthopedic centers in Iraqi Kurdistan. There are a
variety of local hospitals where landmine victims can be treated. Hospitals are
found in all major towns: Zakho, Dohuk, Salahudin, Erbil and Sulymanya. Whether
the victim reaches a hospital is another matter. Those who are hurt in more
rural areas tend to have a lesser chance of survival if transport is not
immediately available.
Prosthetic limbs are manufactured by Handicap International (HI), which has
workshops in Sulaymanya and Ranya. HI opened its Sulaymanya workshop in 1991. By
April 1993, it had assessed 1740 cases and determined 950 people were injured by
landmines. In that same time period, HI produced 1,206 prosthetic
devices.[30] Victims receive no
financial compensation from the respective regional authorities who, in any
case, simply do not have the funding.
[4] Landmine Monitor
interview with Jabber Farman, PUK Minister of Defence, 24 April 1998.
[5] “UN Says Iraq Food
Handouts Not Stopped By Raid,” Reuters, 7 December 1997.
[6] Saadet Oruc,
“Another Facet Of Iraqi Kurds,” Turkish Daily News, 9 August
1998; “Kurdish KDP Radio Says PKK Faction Burns Two Villages,”
BBC Monitoring Service (Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan), 1 September 1998;
“Kurdish Sources Reportedly Say PKK Gaining Strength In Barzani
Areas,” Al Hayat newspaper, 27 August 1998.
[7] “Number of Bodies
Of ‘Terrorists’ Found In Cross-Border Operation Now 77,”
BBC Monitoring Service (source: TRT TV), 21 April 1994; Suna Erdem,
“Turkey Risks Rift With NATO Over Iraq Incursion,” Reuters,
22 March 1995; Alistair Bell, “Turkey Continues Assault Kurds in
Iraq,” Reuters, 22 March 1995; “Kurdish Sources Reportedly
Say PKK Gaining Strength In Barzani Areas,” Al Hayat newspaper, 27
August 1998; Suna Erdem, “Turkey Risks Rift With NATO Over Iraq
Incursion,” Reuters, 22 March 1995.
[8] Osman Senkul,
“Turkey Presses On In North Iraq Despite Outcry,” Reuters, 20
May 1997.
[9] U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers: The Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines, 1993;
Hidden Killers: The Global Landmine Crisis, 1998.
[10]Owen Boycott,
“Heroic Volunteers Are Themselves The Target,” The Guardian,
2 March 1999; Hidden Death.
[11]Jonathon Lyons,
“Nine Years On, Mines From Iran-Iraq War Still Killing,”
Reuters, 26 December 1996; Dominic Evans, “Hidden Mines Haunt
Kurdistan,” Reuters, 20 July 1998.
[12]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group received by Landmine Monitor researcher.
[13]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group received by Landmine Monitor researcher.
[14]Middle East Watch,
Hidden Death: Land Mines and Civilian Casualties in Iraqi Kurdistan.
[15]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group received by Landmine Monitor researcher.
[16]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group received by Landmine Monitor researcher.
[17]The Common Types of
Landmines in Kurdistan, The Mines Advisory Group - Northern Iraq
(undated).
[18]Hassan Hafidh, “UN
Tackles Mine Danger In Northern Iraq,” Reuters, 17 August 1998.
[19]Mine Action Bilateral
Donor Support, database maintained by Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade.
[20]“Protection For
Iraqi Kurds,” Anadolu news agency, 12 January 1999.
[21]U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers: The Global Landmine Crisis, 1998, p. 97.
[22]“Iraq Attacks UN
over Landmine Clearance in North,” BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 7
January 1999.
[23]Owen Boycott,
“Heroic Volunteers Are Themselves The Target,” The Guardian,
2 March 1999.
[24]Gilles Paris, The
Sanctuary Of Iraqi Kurdistan, Le Monde, 19 December 1998.
[25]Mines Advisory Group,
Northern Iraq, brochure prepared by Mines Advisory Group, Cockermouth,
United Kingdom, 1998.
[26]U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers: The Global Landmine Crisis, 1998, p. 97.
[27]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group to Landmine Monitor researcher.
[28]In the Sulaymanya
province alone, in 1991, 338 men, 127 children and thirty women were killed
compared to seventeen men, three children and one woman in 1998.
[29]Correspondence from Mines
Advisory Group to Landmine Monitor researcher.
[30]Shawn Roberts and Jody
Williams, After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines
(Washington, DC: Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation, 1995), p. 259.
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