In September, Global Clearance Solutions was awarded a new UNOPS/UNMAS contract and two Explosive Hazard Clearance teams were deployed in Mosul and environs in Iraq. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic situation, the teams were operational within 6 weeks.
The Operations Manager briefing the Mosul team on the location and the operations plan
The complexity of the contamination in the liberated areas of Mosul requires a comprehensive explosive hazard management response. Only then can humanitarian, stabilisation and redevelopment efforts be truly successful, allowing the more than 1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) to safely return home.
The female search team with their team leader preparing a secure location for the collection of IEDs and UXO
Committed to stabilisation
GCS is committed to ridding Iraq of this scourge in order to expediate the return of Mosul’s people, to ensure the resumption of livelihoods and to grant access to agricultural land and residential areas. Our regional office in Baghdad provides central support to our projects and is the focal point for effective liaison with the Department of Mine Action (DMA), UNMAS-Iraq, our stakeholders and supply partners.
High risk search
The Mosul team clearing a 2 meters wide line around the task location from the IEDs.
While stabilisation efforts throughout Iraq have made significant progress there are still millions of tonnes of debris yet to be made safe and cleared in and around Mosul. Booby traps and minefield-style obstacle belts litter public and private infrastructure including houses, schools, hospitals and playgrounds. Unexploded IEDs lie hidden under rubble, littering roads and farmland, preventing any attempt at re-establishing vital infrastructure to the city. As part of the UNOPS/UNMAS project, GCS clearance experts are tasked with highly complex and challenging undertakings of sifting through the rubble to search for, identify and render safe these devices.
Rapid deployment
UXO and IEDs secured for collection
“Being able to deploy and become operational within this timescale given the challenges, not only in terms of the location and the current Covid-19 situation, is testament to our teams’ professionalism, teamwork and pro-active approach” says Philipp von Michaelis, GCS CEO.
GCS has recently completed two Humanitarian Mine Action contracts in Libya and presently we are conducting a project in Iraq for UNOPS/UNMAS for the training, deployment and development of a national Explosive Hazard Clearance teams in the Ninewa region.