TEHRAN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian official said on Tuesday that over 4 million people in Iran's western and southern provinces are threatened by unexploded mines and explosives, reported the official news agency IRNA.
There are 20 million unexploded mines and explosives left in Iran due to the eight-year war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988, Mohammad-Hossein Amir-Ahmadi, president of Iran's Mine Action Center, was quoted as saying on the occasion of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
The explosives are buried in an area of 42,000 square kilometers stretching across five provinces along the western and southwestern borders, where more than 3 million have been detected and cleared.
Amir-Ahmadi said the buried mines and explosives in the country have so far killed over 8,000 civilians, and led to unemployment, migration from the affected regions and destruction of the environmental resources. ■
