Last month, GCS successfully completed its first ever Residential Area Clearance (RAC) contract in the Sinjar District of Nineveh Province, Iraq. The overall goal was to support the Government of Iraq in its efforts to return as many displaced people as possible to their homes, as well as to clear and declare infrastructure such as residential properties, hospitals and schools safe.
High-risk residential area search and clearance
While stabilisation efforts throughout Iraq have made significant progress there are still many tonnes of debris from damage and destroyed buildings yet to be made safe and cleared in and around Sinjar. Booby traps and minefield-style IED belts litter public and private infrastructure including houses, schools, hospitals, electrical substations and prominent public monuments.
Unexploded IEDs lie hidden under the rubble and there is also widespread explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination following intense fighting. Urban space and residential area IED search and clearance operations in Iraq are highly complex and hazardous and can only be conducted by appropriately trained and accredited personnel. GCS clearance experts are tasked with sifting through the debris to search for, identify and render safe these devices.
A market in ruins
The iconic Al- Saray Market is the oldest market in Sinjar built in the year 1950 and sits below the Sayyida Zaynab shrine which has been reconstructed since the end of the fighting. The area is approx. 85,000m2 and consists of a mix of older and more modern buildings. A once vibrant market now lies in ruins. The market was used as a defensive position by ISIS and there is evidence of tunnels that have been dug allowing ISIS fighters the ability to move around the market area unseen.
The rubble challenge
GCS personnel began the UNMAS clearance task in June. Due to the extensive damage, access for GCS experts was very challenging. First the rubble had to be checked for explosive ordnance. In the ‘open areas’ a front-end loader and an excavator were used to gain access and to move the rubble. Within the ‘accessible’ damaged buildings, the debris had to be moved by hand, an extremely slow and arduous task. Clearance staff recovered several explosive items (both unexploded ammunition and IEDs), all of which have been dealt with by trained National EOD personnel.
Geopolitical Tensions
It is not only threats of unexploded ordnance under the ground that our clearance teams must take into consideration. Although it has been 6 years since the Sinjar region was recaptured from ISIS, a tangled web of geopolitical tensions mean that the region remains somewhat volatile. The area around Sinjar has been subject to frequent cross-border Turkish airstrikes in recent months. The most recent attack was on a militia vehicle in the Sinjar region. To date, this has not impacted GCS operations on the ground, but we always ensure that we keep up-to-date on geopolitical developments and any escalations in the region in order to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of our staff during operations.