Kuwait has experienced lots of heavy rain for the past two weeks
22 November 2018
| Last updated on 22 November 2018And this unexpected amount of rain has done something unpredictable
It was announced on Wednesday, that the heavy rain in Kuwait actually unearthed and exposed several historic landmines.
With several complaints coming through regarding the land mines, officials had to investigate and close 18 deserts so far.
After carefully considering and investigation, Kuwaiti authorities found that these undiscovered landmines actually belong to the Iraqi troops during their 1990 – 1991 occupation in parts of Kuwait.
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Officials have successfully removed 48 mines from deserts in Kuwait and are searching for more in the areas.
So far no was injured because of these unearthed landmines, however, desert campers are encouraged to avoid visiting the deserts or camping out until all desert areas have been cleared by the Kuwait Defense Ministry.
"Floods have uncovered and carried away scores of mines, bombs and ammunition left by the Iraqi army in desert areas. We are waiting for the defence ministry to hand over the areas after clearing them," Fahad al-Shutaily, deputy director of Kuwait's Jahra and Farwaniya governorates told AFP, Arabian Business reported.
History behind the land mines
The landmines date back to almost 28 years of history in the region – Iraqi troops had previously entered Kuwait during the Kuwait-Iraq war under the regime of Saddam Hussein.
And according to records held by the Kuwait government, it is estimated that almost two million mines are hidden in the Kuwait desserts – but through several projects, Kuwait has managed to remove 1.65 million mines, while the remaining 350,000 landmines have not been found yet.