Baghdad [Iraq], April 5 (HBTV): The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has reported that landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contaminate an estimated 2,100 square kilometres of land in Iraq—an area roughly equivalent to 3,00,000 football fields.

The contamination, a result of decades of conflict including the Iran-Iraq War and the 2014–2017 campaign against Daesh, continues to pose a serious threat to civilian lives, displace families, block access to agricultural land, and hamper reconstruction and development efforts.

Between 2023 and 2024, the ICRC recorded 78 casualties caused by landmines and ERW. In early 2025, three students were killed in an explosion in Abu Al-Khasib, Basra.

In a statement marking the International Day for Mine Awareness on April 4, the ICRC called for increased efforts to reduce contamination and provide greater support to communities affected by landmines. Clearance operations are ongoing in cooperation with national authorities and humanitarian organisations.

(ANI/WAM)