Clearing Improvised Landmines in Iraq

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Volume 21 Issue 1 The Journal of Conventional Weapons Article 4 Destruction Issue 21.1

April 2017

MAG: Clearing Improvised Landmines in Iraq

Chris Loughran MAG (MAG (Mines Advisory Group))

Sean Sutton MAG (Mines Advisory Group)

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Recommended Citation Loughran, Chris and Sutton, Sean (2017) "MAG: Clearing Improvised Landmines in Iraq," Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction: Vol. 21 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol21/iss1/4

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 42° Hakkâri 44° 46° 48° Daryacheh-ye- -- - Mianeh-- Orumiyeh Orumiyeh Q e (Umia) (Lake Urmia) ze -- l O Zakhu wz - an DAHUK -- Al Qamishli-- Dahuk- Miandowab 'Aqrah Rayat-- -

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36 Ar Raqqah Arbil UU ° NINAWÁ 36 - LL ° r Kuysanjaq - A u Al Qayyarah - - b Makhmur Y a b h a M Z K e l Al Hadr tl a it L As r N -- h a Sulaymaniyah - Y Sanandaj Dayr az Zawr N Kirkuk A - KIRK K Loughran and Sutton: MAG: Clearing ImprovisedH Landmines in Iraq Halabjah - Bayji FEATURE T Na -- i h g r a Tawuq r l б is 'U - l MAG: CLEARING IMPROVISEDa - z y Tikrit a i Hamadan y LANDMINESm IN IRAQ D - r rates Buhayrat al h -- Euph - SALAHby Chris AD Loughran and Sean Sutton [ MAG, Mines Advisory Group ] a Abu Kamal Qadisiyah - N - - DIN Qasr-e Shirin-- - -- Thartha- Khanaqin Kermanshah 34 - ° Al Hadithah Lake 34° Borujerd- -- Al Ha - 'Akashat bba - - ni -n Hit ya - - Al Walid wra h Ilam - a - i H -- R -- - i Ar Ramadi u- Khorramabad ad Baghdad dh W ha- Habbaniyahё - h BAGHDAD ne j - h-y Ar Rutbah Lake llu Mehran e - Al Fa ma A re A L ANBAR h - dёawi Razzaza Trebil - al Gha - - a-di Lake These women have just crossed the frontline in eastern Mosul, northern Iraq where hundreds of people are crossing Dehloran W every day. At the camps set- up by MAG’s humanitarian partners—oftenW on ASIland that was madeT safe from improvised landmines- and unexploded ordnance by our teams—people who were displaced by the violence are provided with Karbala'tented shelter and basicBABIL supplies. What they want most is to get home as soon as possible, once the violenceShaykh has Sa'd ceased. But people are losing lives, limbs, and livelihoods as they return to extensive contamination from landmines and booby traps in their homes, villages, and fields. We are in a race against time to get to these brutal, indiscriminate killers. In just three- weeks in NovemberAl Hillah2016, in a single village east of Mosul, MAG- cleared 250 improvised landmines. This could be 250 lives saved. Most of the improvised mines MAG found are powerful enough to rip apart a car but JORDAN KARBALA' Al Kut - - sensitive enough to be triggered by a child’s footstep. 'Ali al Gharbi - All photos courtesy of Sean Sutton/MAG. Al Hayy Dezful Ubayyiёd AG’s recent experience in the Middle East has shown Munitions deployed on, under, or near the ground that are 32 - -i al --- - ad Mthat clearing improvised landmines can be achieved initiated by the presence, proximity, or contact of a person ° W Ad Diwaniyah MAYSAN 32 An evenNajaf in the most complex humanitarian contexts. It is imper- regardless of whether they are improvised or not are anti- ° Nukhayb ative that detail and specificity is given to discussions on im- personnel landmines, as defined by the Anti-personnel Mine -

S provised devices if we are to avoid negative repercussions for Ban Convention (APMBC) and Amended Protocol II of the Al 'Amarah - h Abu Sukhayr - - T the safety of beneficiaries and humanitarian workers. Convention on Certain Conventionala Weapons (CCW). AL QADISIYAH i t g t Qal'at Sukkar r a i s l - Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2017 1 ISSUE 21.1 @ APRIL 2017 9 Qal'at Salih

-- DHI QAR Qaryat al Gharab G Judayyidat 'Ar'ar h a r rr a h h E f u a AN NAJAF a phra Ar'ar tes Al QurnahS h - w h s a - - a An Nasiriyah tt m m - a a Hawr al Hammar l a S A rr n s ra o A b h d - Jalibah- K As Salman b A AL MUTHANN AL BASRAH Umm Qasr 30 30 ° Makhfar al Busayyah ° Al Faw-

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JORDAN Al Kut KARBALA' 'Ali-- al Gharbi - Al Hayy Dezful bayy 32 -i al U iёd --- - ° -ad Ad Diwaniyah MAYSAN 32 W Nukhayb An Najaf - ° S Al 'Amarah - h Abu Sukhayr - - T a Technical Field Manager Mohammad Salaam has worked with MAG for 24 years in countries all over the world. He has never seen a AL QADISIYAH i more heavily mined place than his home region in northern Iraq. “We find more every day” he said. t g t Qal'at Sukkar r a i s l - https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol21/iss1/4 2 10 FEATURE @ THE JOURNAL OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION Qal'at Salih

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Bayji- T Na -- i h g r a Tawuq r l б is 'U - l a - z y Tikrit a i Hamadan y m D - r tes Buhayrat al h -- Euphra - SALAH AD a Abu Kamal Qadisiyah - N - - DIN Qasr-e Shirin-- - -- Thartha- Khanaqin Kermanshah 34 - ° Al Hadithah Lake 34° Borujerd- -- Al Habb - 'Akashat - an- - iy - ran Hit a - Al Walid aw h Deminers deal with explosive devices and landmines on the outskirts of Bashiqa, Iraq. Here the MAG team found six differentIlam items - set up for command control and also pressure wires. Many vehicles passed over these explosives, very close to the pressure wires. - i H -- R -- - i Ar Ramadi u- Khorramabad ad Baghdad dh W ha- Habbaniyahё - h BAGHDAD ne j - h-y Ar Rutbah Lake llu Mehran e - Al Fa ma A re A L ANBAR h -i Razzaza - Ghadёaw - Trebil -di al Lake - Dehloran Wa - - W ASIT Karbala' BABIL Shaykh Sa'd - Al Hillah -

JORDAN Al Kut KARBALA' 'Ali- al Gharbi- - Al Hayy Dezful bayy 32 -i al U iёd --- - ° -ad Ad Diwaniyah MAYSAN 32 W Nukhayb An Najaf - ° S Al 'Amarah - h Abu Sukhayr - - T a A week’s haul of explosive itemsA areL taken QADISIYAfor demolition near Bashiqa, Iraq. H i t g t Qal'at Sukkar r a i s l - Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2017 3 ISSUE 21.1 @ APRIL 2017 11 Qal'at Salih

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r Kuysanjaq - r Kuysanjaq - AA uu Al Qayyarah - -- bb Makhmur YY a b a h Z MM K Al Hadr le ll tttl aa iit L As rr NN -- hh a Sulaymaniyah a Sulaymaniyah - YY Sanandaj Dayr az Zawr NN Kirkuk Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 21, Iss. 1 [2017], Art. 4 Kirkuk AA -- KIRK K HH HalabjahHalabjah -- It follows, therefore, that improvised Bayji TT N landmines fall within the scope of the a -- ii h g r Tawuq APMBC and states’ commitment to r a ri ll бб uphold the highest standards of inter- is ''U -- ll aa - national humanitarian law. zz yy Tikrit aa ii Hamadan When we call victim-activated im- yy mm D - rr provised explosive devices (IED) what Euphrates Buhayrat al h they are—landmines—it-- becomes clear Euph - SALAH AD a Abu Kamal Qadisiyah N - - that we can draw on the wealth of expe- - Qasr-eQasr-e ShirinShirin---- rience that exists within the mine action DIN Qasr-e Shirin sector to tackle them in areas where the ------fighting has stopped. The humanitarian - Khanaqin KermanshahKermanshah mine action community has addressed Thartha 34 improvised landmines since the origins ° - Lake 34 of the sector. Clearance of landmines— AlAl HadithahHadithah 34° improvised or not—has been a part -- of MAGs’ operational response from BorujerdBorujerd Angola to Afghanistan and Cambodia 'Akashat'Akashatto-- Colombia. Al Habb - This has given MAG the ability and te- -- an- nacity to respond to new humanitarian - HitHit iiy -- emergencies, none more acute than the ran a -- Al Walid awr h IlamIlam ongoing crisis in the Middle East. Since-- H -- ii ---- R -- -- 2014, MAG has seen the systematic- iproi - Ar Ramadi u Khorramabad ad Baghdad dh duction and deployment ofW improvised ha- landmines and booby traps by so-called - hh ne Habbaniyahё BAGHDAD eh- Islamic State/Da’esh posing an immedi- ujj -- -ye ate riskArAr to civilians, RutbahRutbah especially return- Lake lllu MehranMehran - FFaal m ing personnel and displaced persons. - AAll ar reh The scale of contamination dictates that A L ANBAR h the humanitarian need and the need for - Razzaza additional mine action capacity will in- adёawi Trebil - al Gha - -- crease in the coming months, and urgent a-dii LakeLake DehloranDehloran action is needed to prevent a large-scale W -- - W ASIT landmine emergency. Karbala'Karbala' BABIL ShaykhShaykh Sa'dSa'd MAG launched a major humanitarian operation in 2014 in response to evidence -- Al Hillah - of improvised landmine use in areas -

JORDAN Al Kut JORDAN KARBALA'KARBALA' Al Kut ---- of Iraq formerly occupied by Islamic 'Ali'Ali alal GharbiGharbi - State/Da’esh. From September 2015 to Dezful January 2017, MAG cleared more than Al Hayy 7,500 improvised landmines, booby Ubayyiёd 32 - -ii al U ёd --- -- ° traps, and other abandoned devic- -ad AdAd DiwaniyahDiwaniyah MAYSANMAYSAN 32 es in Iraq and Syria alone. By the timeW An Najaf ° this article goes to print, we expect the Nukhayb --

S number to escalate. Improvised land- S AlAl 'Amarah'Amarah h Rows of mines run through Tulluban village and other villages to the north, south, and -- h T mines account for over 99 percent of the east in Iraq. Abu Sukhayr - - T Abu Sukhayr a a AL QADISIYAH ii tt gg tt Qal'at Sukkar r r aa ii ss https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol21/iss1/4 4 ll -- 12 FEATURE @ THE JOURNAL OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION Qal'atQal'at SalihSalih

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36 Ar Raqqah Arbil UU ° NINAWÁ 36 - LL ° r Kuysanjaq - A u Al Qayyarah - - b Makhmur Y a b h a M Z K e l Al Hadr tl a it L As r N -- h a Sulaymaniyah - Y Sanandaj Dayr az Zawr N Kirkuk Loughran and Sutton: MAG: Clearing ImprovisedA Landmines in Iraq - KIRK K H Halabjah

JORDAN KARBALA' Al Kut - - ing becomes available. Like any aspect of mine action, skills, we must continue to develop policies and practices that fur- 'Ali al Gharbi - training, equipment, and SOPs need to reflect the contami- ther humanitarian efforts. Dezful nation profile. As always, there needs to be robust quality The nature of many currentAl conflicts Hayy means that we can- Ubayyiёd management systems in place. This is no different for contam- not wait for the conflict to stop if we are to meet humani- 32 - -i al --- - ° ad ination involving improvised landmines, boobyAd traps, abanDiwaniyah- tarian need. Alongside our colleagues in the humanitarian MAYSAN 32 W An donedNajaf command operated IEDs, or explosive remnants of war sector, mine action NGOs undertaking emergency response ° Nukhayb (ERW) from improvised munitions. programs must approach access in terms of areas where ac- -

S The real areas of novelty arise from the nature and com- tive hostilities have ceased. To achieve this requires robust Al 'Amarah - h T Abu plexitySukhayr of the conflicts in which we are seeking- to meet risk- and security management. Our continued access and the a AL QADISIYAH i t g t Qal'at Sukkar r a i s Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2017 l 5 - ISSUE 21.1 @ APRIL 2017 13 Qal'at Salih

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IRAQ Hafar al Batin-

28° 0 50 100 150 200 150 300 km

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Bayji- T Na -- i h g r a Tawuq r l б is 'U - l a - z y Tikrit a i Hamadan y m D - r tes Buhayrat al h -- Euphra - SALAH AD a Abu Kamal Qadisiyah - N -- DIN Qasr-e Shirin-- - -- Thartha- Khanaqin Kermanshah 34 - ° Al Hadithah Lake 34° Borujerd- -- Al Ha - 'Akashat bba - - niy a-n Hit a - - Al Walid awr h Ilam - - H -- R -- i i Ar Ramadi u- -ad d Khorramabad W Baghdad hh - - h an Children discuss MAG risk education posters placed in the Khazir internally displaced person (IDP) camp near Mosul, Iraq.Habbaniyahё BAGHDAD e j - h-y Ar Rutbah Lake llu Mehran e safety and security of humanitarian workers and beneficiaries Chris- Loughran Fa m Communications Manager Al a also depends on a clear and visible distinction between hu- re A L MAGAN (Mines Advisory BARGroup) h manitarian and military or security action. This is why MAG Chris Loughran has more than 10 years and other NGOs continue to press for a clear distinction and - experience working in the internation- Razzaza dёawi al nonprofit sector. Loughran joined MAG vision of labor between humanitarian operations and- counter- Gha Trebil - al in 2006 and is currently director of policy - - IED approaches. di Lake Dehloran Wa for MAG, leading the organization’s stra- - W ASIT The challenges are complex, but they are not insurmount- tegic influencing work on disarmament is- - able, and we are achieving results. We are enabling the safe de- sues including landmines, illicit small arms Karbala' BABIL Shaykh Sa'd and ammunition management. He holds a livery of shelter, food, and medical aid by our humanitarian Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oxford (U.K.) and a mas- colleagues, and we are saving lives. This is all part of the mine ter’s degree in violence, conflict, and development studies from - Al Hillah - the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. action sector’s continued relevance, dynamism, and tireless JORDAN KARBALA' Al Kut -- work to prevent suffering, death, and injury. Sean Sutton 'Ali al Gharbi - Communications Director Dezful MAG (Mines Advisory Group) Al Hayy - l Ubayyiёd Sean Sutton is an award-winning photojour- 32 - di a nalist; his well-known pictures show the --- - ° a impact of landmines and explosive rem- Ad Diwaniyah MAYSAN 32 W nants of war on communities and have An Najaf Nukhaybbeen published and exhibited all over the - ° world. His book documenting how unex- S Al 'Amarah ploded ordnance affect people in Laos - h was runner-up for the Leica European Abu Sukhayr - - T a Publisher’s Award. Sutton is MAG’s international communica- AL QADISIYAH i g tions manager and has worked for the organization since 1997. t t Qal'at Sukkar r a i s l - https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol21/iss1/4 6 14 FEATURE @ THE JOURNAL OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION Qal'at Salih

Rafha- Al Jahrah Persian Kuwait Gulf Al Ahmadi-

IRAQ Hafar al Batin-

28° 0 50 100 150 200 150 300 km

The boundaries and names shown and the designations 0 50 100 150 200 mi acceptance by the United Nations. 42° 44° 46° 48°