MAG is creating a more secure environment in Iraq, enabling development and helping people to return home safely.
See: VIDEO: Iraq 2010 - Saving lives
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From minefields to wheat and barley farming
Poverty-stricken inhabitants of a village in northern Iraq have hopes of a better future after MAG cleared the area of landmines and unexploded ordnance. (23 April 2012)
Clearing the lethal legacy of the past [irishexaminer.com]
Employing hundreds of Iraqi citizens who daily inch their way through fields and disarm landmines, MAG also runs education programmes in schools, liaises with local religious leaders about hazards for communities and even uses demining dogs to help clear lands contaminated with the hidden killing devices. (11 January 2012)
Arms safety classes held for children [irishexaminer.com]
Many victims of landmines or unexploded war munitions in Iraq are children. Often the buried devices look toylike. The young are curious and the most vulnerable to these hidden remnants of war. (11 January 2012)
Eleven minefields safely returned to communities in Kirkuk
Almost 490,000 square metres of land that was heavily contaminated by landmines and other unexploded ordnance has been cleared, and will now be used for farming and infrastructure projects. (21 July 2011)
Mines removed from irrigation system site near Halabja
MAG cleared 300 sq/m of land and removed 11 anti-personnel landmines so that an irrigation project in a Sulimaniyah community devastated by conflict could continue. (23 June 2011)
MAG Iraq report - March-April 2011 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
REVIEW 2010: Supporting development and rehabilitation
Assessments conducted by Community Liaison teams showed that more than four million square metres of land cleared and released during 2010 will be primarily used for farming wheat, barely and seasonal fruits, as well as grazing animals. (20 May 2011)
Conventional Weapons destroyed to support international trade
MAG has destroyed more than 430 deadly weapons that were threatening the lives of truck drivers and blocking development at one of the biggest trading points between Iraq and Turkey. (17 March 2011)
MAG Iraq report - February 2011 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
Clearing land of mines and UXO for agricultural use
"MAG staff are angels and they came to my village to save me," said Kezhan Shukor. Kezhan and her family live in Farqan, a small village a few miles from the former ‘green line’, the military boundary that separated northern and central Iraq. (16 February 2011)
MAG Iraq report - January 2011 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - December 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - November 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - October 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - September 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - August 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
Areas contaminated by cluster bomblets cleared near Mosul
MAG cleared two areas contaminated by cluster submunitions in Kherava after students at the local school told a Community Liaison team about the presence of bomblets in their village. (1 October 2010)
MAG Iraq report - July 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
MAG Iraq report - June 2010 [PDF]
Download
the latest report from MAG's operations in the country.
Removing the threat in Mosul
MAG Iraq's Conventional Weapons Destruction response team removed and destroyed 549 hazardous items from Sekanyan village. (22 July 2010)
VIDEO: Iraq 2010 - Saving lives
MAG is creating a more secure environment in Iraq, enabling development and helping people to return home safely. (16 July 2010)
Saving lives of returnees in Dohuk
Unexploded cluster munitions continue to pose a lethal threat to countless communities across Iraq. MAG’s recent work in Surka village cleared bomblets that were posing the threat of death or injury long after they were dropped. (28 May 2010)
Fighting poverty through supporting agricultural development
As a way of reducing poverty, the Kurdistan Regional Government is encouraging people displaced by conflict to return to their villages and resume farming. Crucial to this process is MAG’s role in ensuring valuable farming land is free from remnants of conflict. (12 May 2010)
Partnership saves lives
Cluster bombs can threaten lives and limbs for years after they’ve been deployed. (25 March 2010)
MAG welcomes ratification of Cluster Bomb Ban Treaty
Today's news will have even more resonance for people in Lebanon, Lao
PDR and Iraq, where the lethal threat from unexploded cluster munitions
continues to affect the daily life of countless communities. (17
February 2010)
Thousands of Iraqis taught gun safety and awareness
A UNICEF-funded project has seen MAG train teachers and youth workers on the dangers of Small Arms and Light Weapons, aimed at preventing needless child deaths. (25 January 2010)
Living with the threat of unexploded ordnance and landmines
The village of Qala Yahodi, close to the border with Iran in Diyala governorate, lives with the threat of death or injury on a daily basis. Agricultural lands remain unused due to the danger. (24 September 09)
MAG Iraq report - August 2009 [PDF]
MAG released 172,349 sq/m of land and destroyed 239 hazardous items during the month.
Clearing the road to recovery
When labourers found a buried stockpile of mortars, construction work on a key new highway linking Erbil and Sulimaniyah had to stop. (1 September 09)
MAG Iraq report - July 2009 [PDF]
MAG teams released 334,912 m² of land during July, destroying 422 hazardous items. An additional 281,487 m² of suspected hazardous land was made safe through demarcation.
Watching football in safety
MAG has removed and safely destroyed 45 anti-personnel landmines and 845 other Remnants of Conflict in the village of Bndazian, where even a simple activity like going to the local football stadium could be fraught with danger. (19 June 09)
MAG Iraq report - May 2009 [PDF]
Two hundred Mine Risk Education were delivered to more than 10,000 people in Erbil, Diyala, Dahuk, Kirkuk and Sulimaniyah governorates during the month, while 12,000-plus conventional weapons were destroyed.
New MAG Iraq HQ opened by US Department of State official
A brand new building for MAG's flagship Iraq programme has been opened by the Team Leader of the US Regional Reconstruction Team in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. (16 June 09)
New partnership saves lives in Kirkuk
MAG has trained a local non-governmental organisation in Kirkuk so it can deliver vital safety messages to people at risk from landmines and unexploded ordnance. (12 June 09)
Belgian Foreign Minister visits MAG
The first ministerial delegation of Belgian officials to visit Iraq since 1991 went to MAG’s programme yesterday. (29 May 09)
MAG signs two new contracts with the German Government
The German government is providing funding of €550,325 for MAG’s demining operations this year in Iraq and Lebanon. (5 March 09)
Peshmerga training project launched
MAG is supporting the development of a sustainable humanitarian conventional weapons destruction capacity within the forces under the control of the Kurdish Regional Government. (23 February 09)
Posting mine awareness in Chamchamal
MAG's mine awareness activities in Chamchamal district have been bolstered following a charitable donation of US$750 from Talisman Energy. (16 February 09)
MAG aids village reconstruction in Dohuk
MAG is playing an essential part in the recovery of Dasht Mir Sari village, clearing three minefields to enable the construction of new houses, a water project, mosque and primary school. (10 November 08)
Rockets, shells and mortars destroyed in Ravina
MAG Small Arms and Light Weapons teams have safely removed and destroyed 33 hazardous items from the village of Ravina near the Turkish border. (30 October 08)
MAG helps 5,500 in Halabja
MAG has destroyed 58 items - including mortars, shells and hand grenades - in the heavily-contaminated village of Byara. (26 September 08)
Mine detection dogs arrive in Chamchamal
Specially trained dogs will soon be used to assist in MAG's mine clearance activities in Iraq. (4 September 08)
BBC photo gallery: MAG in Iraq
Visit the BBC website to view the 'Clearing landmines in Iraq' gallery, which features the photos of MAG's Sean Sutton. (29 August 08)
MAG saves lives in Pirijan
MAG destroyed 326 hazardous items in the village of Pirijan during June
and July, including landmines, fuses, mortars, shells, rocket-propelled
grenades, hand grenades and 24mm bullets. (6 August 08)
Mortars and ammunition removed from museum
MAG has safely removed and destroyed 16 mortars, two projectiles and three VS-50 anti-personnel mines in Sulaimaniyah, following an urgent request from Amna Sooraka museum. (4 August 08)
MAG assists in clearing heavily contaminated central district
A MAG small arms and light weapons (SALW) team has safely destroyed 465 items in Khanaqen district, Diyala governorate, at the request of the Brigadier General of the Iraqi border police. (18 June 08)
Tackling the threat of small arms and light weapons in Iraq
MAG's mobile small arms and light weapons initiative in Iraq. (2 June 08)
Ridding the community of SALW, a 'cruel enemy'
MAG has destroyed a cache of over 200 small arms and light weapons (SALW) near Sulaimaniyah, found at a scrapyard through which children have to walk on their way to school. (5 February 08)
Operations support infrastructure development
On the request of the Kurdish Regional Government, MAG has cleared a minefield which was preventing the reconstruction of a bridge on a main trade highway to Syria. (4 February 08)
Focus on small arms and light weapons
The global availability of SALW is increasingly recognised as a real hindrance to peace and security, and to relief and development activities. It is not, however, a straightforward issue. (23 October 07)
Agriculture benefits from clearance operations
Despite continued instability, MAG continues to implement operations both within Iraq and along the border with Turkey and Iran. (4 October 07)
Mobile SALW destruction project launched
MAG Iraq’s newly formed mobile small arms and light weapons (SALW) destruction project safely removed and destroyed more than 3,000 items in its opening two weeks. (19 September 2007)
MAG in the media: 'Tony shunned quiet life'
Scottish newspaper the Daily Record has featured an article on MAG Iraq’s Technical Field Manager Tony Bean. (10 September 07)
Giving Mine Risk Education lessons
A look at how MAG has used MRE in Ismail Aga village, located in an area that was highly contaminated with landmines during the Iran/Iraq war. (14 August 07)
Ismail Mustafa
“I was collecting mushrooms on the hill near here and I didn’t see the mine. There was a huge explosion. When I woke up I saw that both my legs were gone I thought my life was over.” (14 August 07)
Saving Darband village
High in the mountains of northern Iraq a deadly legacy of the Iran/Iraq war hides amongst the wild flowers and long grass, ready to strike any unsuspecting victim. (14 August 07)
Long-term recovery
MAG's response to the problem of flooding in and around Chamchamal in the north of the country is an example of our long-term focus. (19 December 06)
Village recovery
MAG has cleared three minefields in the village of Goran in Kirkuk governorate, removing and safely destroying 1,379 landmines and 43 items of unexploded ordnance. (9 November 06)
Making children safe
Since 2003, the small town of Domeeze in north Iraq has witnessed eleven casualties as the result of landmines or unexploded ordnance. (21 March 06)
A village reborn
Over a glass of tea, Jalal Salih Kaka Rash expresses his thanks for MAG’s work in his village, work that has allowed him to finally return home. (1 February 05)
Qadir Karam
Qadir Karam, in the Chamchamal district of Sulaymaniyah, used to be a thriving community with over 3,000 inhabitants. (1 February 04)
Twins injured
While Dana and Zana Hussein were walking around their village, they triggered a V69 - one of the deadliest anti-personnel mines in the world. (1 June 03)
What MAG can achieve
Following the demise of the Government of Iraq, MAG has continued to conduct emergency tasks in newly liberated areas of northern Iraq. (1 June 03)
Deadly game
Fifty-two killed and 63 injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance; these are the devastating statistics in just one week coming from the main hospital in Kirkuk, northern Iraq. (1 April 03)
MAG achievements
MAG has worked in northern Iraq since 1993, conducting landmine clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, survey, area demarcation, and Mine Risk Education activities. (1 January 03)
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