BAGHDAD —
At least 519 children have been killed or injured by landmines and unexploded
ordnance in Iraq in the past five years,
UN agencies have warned.
اضافة اعلان
“More than 80
percent of children affected are boys,” the rights groups UNICEF, the world
body’s children’s agency, and the
UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said in a
joint statement on Monday night.
They added that
boys were “disproportionately impacted due to incidents of child labor, such as
grazing animals or collecting scrap metal to sell”.
The statement said
although
Iraq has not “suffered from open conflicts” over past years, “the
effects of explosive weapons will reverberate for years to come”.
A report by the
charity Humanity & Inclusion said: “Iraq is considered one of the countries
most contaminated by explosive devices in the world,” with more than
3,225sq.km. of land contaminated with unexploded ordnance.
The material is
particularly present near the borders with Iran,
Kuwait, and
Saudi Arabia, all
areas where Iraq has been involved in armed conflicts over the past four
decades.
Baghdad fought a
war with Iran between 1980–1988, as well as the first Gulf War triggered by the
invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The Iraqi military
backed by an international coalition fought a war against
Daesh between 2014 and 2017.
In the joint statement,
UNICEF and UNMAS urged “all parties to accelerate every effort to clear
existing mines and unexploded ordnance” and called on “all parties to
accelerate their efforts to remove mines and explosive remnants, to strengthen
victim assistance and to support children’s right to a safe, secure and
protected environment”.
Read more Region and World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
