MISSAN /  Aswat al-Iraq: Major Menaam Rahim, the officer of military engineering unit, did not expect to get a serious wound while removing landmines in the eastern borders in Missan.

 

 

Rahim was not the last victim of the last "hidden enemy" which turned the life of Missan residents into hell and obstacle the investment movements in the province, as one of the employees of an oil company was killed and several of his colleagues were wounded last October.

 

 

A total of 5800 persons were killed or wounded as a result of this dangerous enemy.

 

 

"It is so difficult to work in some oilfields in the eastern part of the province because of the landmines and remnants of wars," Oil Missan Company media director, Khaled Wahem, told Aswat a-Iraq news agency, noting that the last statistics underlined the killing of four employees and the wounding of three others, including a major from the 10th division.

 

 

"The last incident took place in October, when an employee of Borg a-Arab Company was killed by a landmine blast in al-Fakkah oilfield in eastern Missan," he added.

 

 

"The victim "entered a restricted area, ignoring instructions, which led to an explosion a mine," pointing out that the border areas of Missan province (al-Tayyeb and Fakkah ) are considered "dangerous to contain mines and ordnance old from Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).
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For his part, Chairman of the Committee on Health and the Environment Council of Missan province, Maytham al-Fartusi, told Aswat al-Iraq, that there is a "five million landmines left since Iran-Iraq war are not addressed as a need to specialized bodies and possibilities and huge sums," adding that efforts made by the 10th division of  the Iraqi army in this regard "remains limited and not enough".

 

 

Al-Fartusi held relevant authorities "legal responsibility and humanitarian consequences of the fall of mine victims in the governorate," accusing them of "not doing the necessary due diligence and to remove the landmines of the territory of the province."

 

 

The Chairman of the Committee on Health and the Environment Council He underlined that Iraq signed the Ottawa Convention International, which obliges member country clearance of land within ten years," he continued," noting that three years passed since signing the convention without  removing the mines.

 

 

SH (TR)/SR