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A
bounding fragmentation mine washed away from the original minefield by
heavy rain and flooding
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Land
mines, the hidden, indiscriminate leftovers of wars and internal conflicts,
plague tens of countries around the world. They target anyone who makes the
mistake of setting foot in land which they inhabit, regardless of age, religion,
sex, or political belief. They do not distinguish between innocence or guilt of
the victim, civilian or armed, but wait silently even years after conflicts end,
and long after the reasons they were planted are history, they lay there
awaiting their next victim, who is in many cases a curious but innocent child.
According
to the United Nations, every year about 15,000 to 20,000 people are
indiscriminately killed or maimed by landmines in at least 80 different
countries. Approximately one third of the victims are children and the remainder
are mainly civilians.
Landmines
in Iraq
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UXO
stacked on the ground by farmers unaware of the risk of the whole stack
exploding
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The
Iraqi population has been plagued by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO)
over the past 30 years. In the 1960’s and 1970’s internal conflict between
the Iraqi forces and the Kurdish mountain fighter’s took place and the Iraqi
army used landmines extensively as a means to prevent military action by the
Kurdish fighters. Widespread planting of landmines also occurred during the
1980-1988 Iran- Iraq war. The 1991 Gulf war witnessed further planting of mines;
117,634 landmines, 27,967 antipersonnel mines and 89,667 anti-vehicle mines,
were planted by the U.S in Iraq and Kuwait. Gator cluster bomb units were used
by the U.S Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircrafts to distribute these mines.
The Marine Corps also used a few artillery-delivered mines.
Regions
affected by landmines and UXO in Iraq include the northern region, along the
Iraq- Iran border and throughout the central and southern provinces of the
country.
According
to Human Rights Watch, the greatest concentration of mines can be found in
northern Iraq along the Iran-Iraq border, specifically in the districts of
Penjwin, Sharbazher, and Qaladiza. A recent survey addressing the issue of
landmine impact confirmed that all twenty-five districts in the three provinces
(governorates) comprising northern Iraq are affected by mines, and 3,444
different areas are suspected of being contaminated by mines and/or UXO,
affecting over 148,000 families (more than one in five) living in 1,096
mine-affected communities.
The
number of landmines in Iraq is unknown; as are the number of casualties caused
by them. However in 2001, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
conducted a survey and acknowledged cluster bombs and other UXO to be the main
threat to residents in southern Iraq.
It
has been estimated that the number of casualties caused by landmines and UXO in
2001 was approximately 30 per month in northern Iraq, with at least 21 deaths or
injuries, including 19 children, occurring in other parts of the country. The UN
Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM) has reported landmine casualties in
southern Iraq, including the deaths of three children.
After
conducting a series of surveys throughout the region the Mines Advisory
Group’s (MAG) Data Co-ordination Unit estimated that 760 villages, which
represent over 15 percent of all villages in the region are badly affected by
mines, this amounts to 220 million square meters of land suspected to be mined
and consequently remain unused.
MAG
reports 6,250 injuries and 3,450 deaths as a result of mine and UXO explosions
in Iraq. It is thought that the number of livestock casualties is probably 10-15
times higher than human casualties since the grazing of animals is a necessity
in rural areas. This has severe economic consequences.
MAG
recorded 932 deaths and 1,512 injuries as a result of mine and UXO accidents in
1991 alone. In 2000, eighty- seven people were treated by UN peacekeepers on the
Iraq-Kuwait border for injuries caused by landmine and UXO.
An
accurate portrayal of the casualties caused by landmines and UXO in Iraq is not
possible since it is believed that many mine incidents, especially deaths, go
unreported. A measure of the seriousness of the problem may be obtained by
monitoring the manufacture of prosthesis for mine survivors; in 2001 Iraqi
centers supported by the ICRC manufactured 1,168 prostheses.
The
Ottawa
Mine Ban treaty
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These
children live in constant threat of landmine explosions
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In
1997, international negotiations led to the embracing of the Ottawa Mine Ban
treaty, The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production,
and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on their Destruction, which entered
into force on 1 March 1999, and is the first Convention ever to prohibit a
weapon in widespread use, under international humanitarian law . The treaty came
into force more rapidly than any other modern, multilateral convention; 130
countries have ratified the treaty and 16 countries are signatories to it. These
countries make up approximately two thirds of the worlds governments.
The
last time the United States used landmines was in the 1991 Gulf war and there
are rising concerns that they may decide to use them in Iraq once again, not
only because they kill indiscriminately but also since the further planting of
mines by the U.S will have a negative impact on the estimated 600,000 to 1
million internally displaced people in Iraq which will only increase if more of
the Iraqi land becomes occupied by landmines and UXO. The movement of those
involved with humanitarian assistance to those in need will become increasingly
difficult if their movement is restricted by additional landmines.
The
U.S is the only NATO member other than Turkey and Greece who has not embraced
the Ottawa accord Mine Ban Treaty, whereas the latter two are committed to
joining it.
There
are also international concerns that other countries who are signatories to the
treaty may be asked by the U.S to violate the terms of the treaty by using mines
in Iraq. For example Qatar, which could be the center of operations in future
U.S. military action against Iraq and is a signatory, would be in direct
violation of the treaty if it allowed the U.S to transfer landmines across its
border into Iraq.
The
ICBL says the U.S has stocked some 90,000 landmines in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Diego Garcia, a territory of the United Kingdom in the
Indian Ocean, for possible use in Iraq.
According
to the Center for Defense Information
(CDI),
“The landmines used by U.S. forces in the Gulf War consisted of Gator CBU
bombs containing anti-tank and anti-personnel landmines, RAAM artillery rounds
containing anti-tank mines, and ADAM artillery rounds containing anti-personnel
landmines. These would be the same kinds of mines that the United States
would use in any upcoming operations in Iraq.”
The
mines used were also most likely ineffective militarily. According to a report
from the General
Accounting Office (GAO), “The services reported no evidence of enemy
casualties, either killed or injured; enemy equipment losses, either destroyed
or damaged; or enemy maneuver limitations resulting, directly or indirectly,
from its employment of . . . [antipersonnel] landmines during the Gulf War.”
The
Iraqi people have suffered for years from the presence of hundreds of thousands
of landmines and UXO in their land. Mines hinder economic development, farming
and the reconstruction of countries affected by war and internal conflicts. They
also interfere with the post-conflict repatriation of refugees and internally
displaced persons. Planting new anti-personnel mines in Iraq by the USA would be
a setback to the global diplomatic efforts to eradicate this weapon and would
only increase the threat to innocent people and children for years to come.
Sources:
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Bulletin
of the World Health Organization, 2000: Progress
made in reducing the number of landmines worldwide.
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Carstairs,
Tim, 2003: Humanitarian
Mine Action in Northern Iraq. Mine Advisory Group.
-
CDI,
2002: Lessons
Learned: Using Landmines In A War With Iraq.
-
Heffernan,
John, 2002: US
Campaign to Ban Landmines. Physicians for Human Rights.
-
Human
Rights Watch, 2002: Landmines
in Iraq: Questions and Answers.
-
ICRC,
2003: Landmines.
-
Squitieri,
Tom, 2002: U.S.
set to use mines in Iraq .USA TODAY
-
Stohl,
Rachel, 2002: Landmines
and UXO Endanger Iraqi Population. CDI, Volume 6, Issue #39.
Aisha
El-Awady is an IslamOnline.net staff-writer. She has a bachelor’s
degree in medicine from Cairo University and is currently working as
instructor of Parasitology in the Faculty of Medicine. She may be
contacted at aawady@islam-online.net
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