"One of Biggest Loads of Unexploded Ordnance Ever Seen" Threatens Children's Lives in Southern Iraq
Missan Province, IRAQ, 15 may 03
(M2 Presswire).

Yesterday's incident in Missan Province, Southern Iraq, in which several children were killed whilst playing with unexploded ordnance, is a devastating and stark reminder of the life-threatening danger children face from landmines, cluster bombs and ammunition caches in Iraq. The violence caused by these remnants of war outlasts the conflicts for which they were used.

But the problem in Iraq now goes beyond cluster bombs or landmines according to Kathryn Irwin, UNICEF Communications Officer in Basrah. She revealed that thousands of abandoned stockpiles of ammunition have been discovered in Southern Iraq in recent days. "These caches in Southern Iraq represent one of the biggest loads of unexploded ordnance UNICEF has ever seen, the impact of which will continue to devastate lives and poses a long term threat children. With a shortage of domestic fuel, children are scavenging for firewood from the crates in which ammunition is stored, or removing the propellant fuels from rockets, at great risk to their safety."

"Yesterday's sad incident highlights the clear and present danger posed by remaining unexploded ordnance," Irwin continued. "UNICEF believes that the taking of a child's life is never an acceptable cost of war. During the conflict in Iraq, we voiced deep concern about reports of the use of cluster bombs in densely populated urban areas. The bombs, or fragments of bombs, don't always explode on impact and children easily mistake these bomb packages for aid packages, placing children at huge risk of injury or death.

These cruel and clumsy weapons are still claiming the lives of many Iraqi children."

With the conflict in Iraq now over, many children remain out of school. They can be seen roaming the streets with a natural curiosity to visit places where the fighting took place. "These children are highly vulnerable to injury and death. They are playing and exploring in areas littered with unexploded ordnance posing as deadly souvenirs of war or lethal toys for their curious minds," Irwin added.

UNICEF has aired television campaigns warning children of the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Iraq, to make sure children are educated and aware of the dangers they face. It is important that children return to school as soon as possible, not only so they are off the streets and away from danger but so that they can be educated about the risks they face.

Iraq is among the worst landmine affected countries in the world. Currently, some hospitals report three to four cases per day of child injuries from landmines alone. Many villages in Iraq are surrounded by minefields; these mines are on rocks, in trees and riverbeds. In the north, where families are livestock-dependent, shepherds and nomads are particularly at risk.

While children are most vulnerable to landmines, boys and young men are the most affected.

"The short lives of those children killed today are testimony to the fact that however sophisticated the methods of waging war are today, the end results are as bloody and tragic as they have been throughout the centuries," Irwin stated. "Tragically it is the children that are the principal victims.

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CONTACT: Kathryn Irwin Tel: +88 21 62 111 5973 Sarah Epstein, UNICEF UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7312 7606 e-mail: sarahe@unicef.org.uk

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