ICRC: 8.5m Iraqis live among deadly mines
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(Middle East Monitor) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) revealed yesterday that 8.5 million Iraqis live among deadly mines and unexploded remnants of war.
"Iraq is one of the most contaminated countries on the planet's surface with explosive munitions," ICRC spokeswoman in Iraq, Heba Adnan, told the Iraqi official news agency, adding that explosive remnants of war are spread across more than 3,200 square kilometres of land, "twice the size of the city of London".
She added that approximately 8.5 million Iraqis live among these deadly remnants of war, noting that mines and remnants of war have caused about 700 deaths between 2018 and 2020.
According to official figures, the population of Iraq exceeds 40 million, while thousands of families live in mine-contaminated areas, in violation of the law, due to their inability to buy or rent real estate.