Page 8 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.79, # 1, 2022, pp. 4-19

The data shows that there are at least (3) billion square meters of contamination land in
the governorates under the Iraqi government (Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basra, Diyala,
Karbala, Kirkuk, Maysan, Muthanna, Najaf, Nineveh, Qadisiyah, Salah al-Din, Dhi
Qar and Wasit). The real number is much higher for the low numbers (non-technical
survey). It is very difficult to determine the exact extent of contamination in Iraq for
various reasons, including (there is no reliable national survey of suspected and
confirmed contaminated areas, which has led to a lack of mapping; the presence of
disputed areas and armed groups), and that contamination impedes freedom of
movement and renders the land unsuitable. to live and use [https://reliefweb.
int/report/iraq/acaps-briefing-note-iraq-mine-action-22-january-2021].
The history of mines and remnants of war in Iraq can be shown in chronological
order and according to the governorates in the table 1:

Table 1: History of Mines and Remnants of War in Iraq

Year Case
1961 Planting mines in Iraqi Kurdistan as a result of the conflict
between the region and the government
1980-1988 During the first Gulf War, the Iraqi army planted minefields along
the Iraqi-Iranian border and over a length of more than (1,200 km)
represented in the governorates (Diyala, Wasit, Maysan, Basra,
Erbil, Sulaymaniyah), in addition to the minefields that were
planted from the Iranian side inside Iraqi lands
1991 After withdrawing from Kuwaiti territory and for the purpose of
obstructing the international coalition forces, the former Iraqi
army planted large areas of minefields inside Iraqi territory on
the Kuwaiti and Saudi borders, and the contamination reached
vital installations such as the oil fields in the northern and
southern Rumaila .
2003 In the attack of the US forces, military operations took place in all
regions of Iraq, and this war left many areas contaminated with
various types of war remnants, especially cluster munitions, which
caused great losses. After 2003, Iraq suffered almost daily terrorist
attacks using car bombs or improvised explosive devices that
targeted civilians. And the military, in addition to huge quantities
of explosive shells abandoned after the 2003 events .
2014 New contamination represented by (IEDs) as a result of the
control of ISIS criminal gangs on large lands in several
governorates and the planting of many (IEDs).

Thus, Iraq is one of the countries severely affected by explosive ordnance. Table.2
2
shows the total areas (m ) of regional centers and at the governorate level, and the
types and areas of contamination types (contamination types) with explosive
ordnance in Iraqi territory until April 2021:

8