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FROM THE FIELD

MAG Iraq - April update
10 Jun 2008 09:17:00 GMT
 Source: MAG (Mines Advisory Group)
Website: Website: http://www.maginternational.org

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A villager in Erbil governorate shows MAG teams the location of mortars inside her house.
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A villager in Erbil governorate shows MAG teams the location of mortars inside her house.

Background

•  Iraq in turmoil

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SUMMARY OF APRIL'S ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS

The programme continued to reduce risk to vulnerable communities and support conflict recovery and rehabilitation by implementing Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD), Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) and small arms and light weapons (SALW) projects in Dahuk, Diyala, Erbil, Kirkuk, Ninewah, and Sulimaniyah governorates of Iraq.

- MAG teams searched and cleared 331,798 square metres of land using hand, electronic, and visual techniques safely removing and destroying 3,016 hazardous items. Teams demarcated an additional 2,984,271 sq/m of land.

- Mine Risk Education (MRE) teams delivered seven MRE sessions reaching 179 individuals.

- Community Liaison (CL) teams identified 115 dangerous areas. They conducted community assessments in seven villages, interviewing 261 people.

- Six SALW emergency teams deployed to 180 tasks during April, destroying 3,668 items of SALW.

SUMMARY OF IMPACT

- Creating a more secure environment for the Iraqi people by reducing risk to life and limb.

- Building safer communities and working to improve the futures of people affected by explosive remnants of conflict.

- Facilitating national reconstruction by freeing up land that can be used for livelihood generation and infrastructure projects.

- Contributing to economic growth and stability by creating safer environments and communities and increasing economic independence for families working in farming and herding.

- Facilitating repatriation by handing back cleared land that has previously been denied to its returning residents due to contamination by explosive remnants of conflict.

- Contributing to the building of sustainable Iraqi Humanitarian Mine Action Capabilities in country.

DEMINING & CLEARANCE OPERATIONS

- Diyana sector: MATs searched and cleared 60,597 sq/m of contaminated land. Teams completed two tasks, continued work on eight tasks, and started work on one new task. Teams destroyed a total of 2,783 hazardous items. Teams demarcated 35,000 sq/m of land. MATs worked alongside mechanical teams to remove stockpiles of conventional weapons and SALW from a former Iraq fort close to the town.

- Dahuk sector: MATs worked on three tasks. They searched and cleared 81,459 sq/m of contaminated land, removing and destroying 60 hazardous items support of socio-economic rehabilitation and village reconstruction. Teams in this sector completed two tasks in April.

- Chamchamal and Sulimaniyah sectors: MATs searched and cleared 189,742 sq/m of contaminated land. Teams removed and destroyed 173 hazardous items. MAG teams prioritised demarcation of six new minefields covering 2,949,271 m2 of land. Teams worked on 20 ongoing tasks, completed two and started four new tasks.

- Mechanical assets: Teams deployed across northern Iraq to support MATs and improve the efficiency of operations. Assets were used to prepare 135,820 sq/m in support of clearance operations. Development continued on the sifter unit through the month of April. The Rotar sifter arrived in Chamchamal and was tested and trialled by MAG mechanical teams.

SMALL ARMS LIGHT WEAPONS (SALW) EMERGENCY RESPONSE

- Three dedicated CL teams deployed across Dahuk, Erbil and Sulimaniyah governorates to identify and prioritize instances of SALW contamination for removal and destruction.

- Six SALW emergency teams deployed to 180 tasks during the month of April.

- Teams destroyed 3,668 items of SALW in April, with over 41,000 items now destroyed as part of the SALW project.

COMMUNITY LIAISON (CL)

- Teams identified 115 dangerous areas that pose a threat to resident communities and block socio-economic development.

- MAG CL teams conducted community assessments in seven villages. 261 people were interviewed. MAG's community assessment process to enables better prioritisation and impact assessment.

MINE RISK EDUCATION (MRE)

- MRE teams delivered seven MRE sessions reaching 179 vulnerable individuals.

- MRE teams continued to deliver a radio campaign in Dahuk, Diyana, Sulimaniyah and Chamchamal sectors.

- MRE teams distributed over 950 MRE leaflets, including posters, booklets and stickers.

- MAG Teams conducted 182 follow up visits to teachers who had been trained in MRE across the region.

DONORS

MAG would like to express gratitude to the following donors to the Iraq programme:

- Belgian Government

- Irish Aid

- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the Netherlands

- Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, US Department of State

- SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency)

For more information on MAG's programme in Iraq and around the world, please visit www.maginternational.org.


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Last updated:Tue Jun 10 09:56:49 2008