Press Release

Explosive ordnance incident at Shatt al-Arab near Basra kills 2, injures 1

24 October 2022

Basra, 24 October 2022 – Two Iraqi members of a team working for a United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) implementing partner were killed and a third was injured in an incident at an explosive ordnance clearance site at Shatt al-Arab near Basra in southern Iraq today.

The incident occurred in the early morning at the site managed by Al Khebra Al Fania (AKAF), which is one of UNMAS Iraq’s implementing partners. The injured person was reported to be in stable condition in hospital. 

UNMAS Iraq and the entire UN family in Iraq convey their deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured person a speedy recovery.

UNMAS is working closely with the Iraqi Directorate for Mine Action to investigate and review the incident to understand if any conditions can be addressed and precautions implemented to reduce the risk of such incidents in the future.

AKAF has been a partner of UNMAS for the last two years and cleared hundreds of items of explosive ordnance in the Shatt al-Arab area. The clearance operations are essential for the safety of impacted communities and safe access to land for agricultural activities and development.

Pehr Lodhammar

Pehr Lodhammar

UNMAS
Chief Mine Action Programme
Mr. Pehr Lodhammar is the Chief Mine Action Programme in Iraq, managing all international and national staff in the program, in addition to donor relations and resource mobilization. As a key advocate for the mine action sector in Iraq, he is often involved with coordination with the highest levels of the Iraqi government, and represents UNMAS at international venues and conferences. Mr. Lodhammar holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, and has more than 31 years of military and humanitarian mine action experience.

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UNMAS
United Nations Mine Action Service

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