Türkiye clears 80,000 mines on its border with Iran

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has announced the start of the clearance of 80,000 landmines along the Turkish-Iranian border. The clearance of these mines is being carried out under a two-year UN plan and is funded by the European Union.

The United Nations announced on Wednesday, September 29, the world's largest mine clearance project on the Turkish-Iranian border.

Between 1953 and 1996, Turkey placed these mines on its eastern borders with Iran to prevent illegal crossings and to counter the entry of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The Turkish military used anti-personnel mines on a large scale in its border region with Iran in the 1990s in the fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

But the country joined the international Ottawa Convention in 2004. The Ottawa Treaty bans anti-personnel mines. After joining the treaty, Turkey agreed to clear mines along its eastern border with Iran.

Lucia Winton, the UN Development Programme's Permanent Representative to Turkey, said in a statement that the use of anti-personnel mines has been condemned as an inhumane method of border control for the past decade.

According to the United Nations, 175 mine-sweeping personnel, along with 16 mine-detection dogs, are implementing a mine-clearing project on Türkiye's borders.

It is said that the cleared lands will be made available to residents of border areas for agriculture and livestock raising.