Clearing Landmines

Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) mission in Iran said Tehran should offer its experiences in clearing landmines to other countries affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). “The country has performed rather satisfactorily in clearing landmines, and should offer to share experience and help other similarly affected countries, particularly neighboring Afghanistan,” said Florence Gillette at a meeting on Wednesday in Tehran to mark the International Mine Awareness Day (May 3). Iran has been ranked in a number of global reports as the world’s second most mine-polluted country. Landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination in west and southwest of Iran are the results of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Some 16 million landmines are believed to have been planted in Iran during the war.