MAG has cleared more than 150,000m² of land at a refugee camp in northern Iraq, enabling 200 tents to be installed for Syrian refugees fleeing the uprising.

Around 4,200 Syrians have abandoned their homes and sought refuge inDohukgovernorate since the uprising began in March 2011 and, according to the local authorities, an estimated 15 to 30 people are crossing the border every day.

Some are finding temporary shelter with host families and in mosques, but the majority – 2,835 by the end of May – are heading to the Domez refugee camp about 40 miles inside the Iraq border.

Located alongside the former Green Line separating the Kurdish-controlled areas from those under Iraqi Government jurisdiction, Domez is in an area highly contaminated with remnants of conflict from:

• fighting between the Kurdish Peshmerga and the former Iraqi military;
• defensive minefields laid by Saddam Hussien’s regime to protect military positions alongside the former Green Line;
• coalition forces’ bombardment of nearby Iraqi military bases during the 2003 war.

“During the clearance, our teams were able to safely remove 48 dangerous items,” said Wirya Mustafa, MAG’s Field Operations Manager at the Dohuk base.In March, as an immediate response to a request from the Directorate of Displacement, Migration and IDPs in Dohuk, MAG cleared a total of 151,590m² of suspected hazardousland.

“These items were safely destroyed in a bulk safe demolition far from the camp. Two hundred tents were installed for the refugees as soon as we completed the clearance.” 

The items found included 60mm HE (high explosive) mortars, hand grenades, small armsammunition and other unexploded ordnance.

MAG’s Community Liaison Manager in Dohuk, Ator Hadou, added: “It’s expected that the current camp could expand to provide shelter to more than 1,000 families, and we have assured the authorities that MAG is ready for any future clearance operations if needed.

*This article was updated on 14 June 2012* Many other international non-governmental organisations and UN agencies are currently supporting the refugees in Domez camp (including UNHCR, UNICEF, ACTEDand IOM Iraq), as well as the local authorities in Dohuk governorate.

13 June 2012