Land- Mine Injuries in the Governorate of Dohuk, Kurdistan, Iraq

Objectives: the aim of this study is to demonstrate the demographic characteristics and outcome of victims of land-mine explosions in Duhok region between January 1990 and January 2000. Methods: Retrospectively, all people who visited Azadi and Emergency hospitals at Duhok due to land mine explosions during the period of 10 years starting from 1990 are involved in this study. Results: the study showed that land mines injured 428 people during our study period, most of the injuries occurred in July 1997; with the majority of victims being males aged between 20-30 years old. The study also showed that about 38% of victims were less than 20 years of age. .Sixty-five of the victims arrived dead or died in the hospitals giving an overall mortality rate of 15%. Furthermore, about 40% ofthe victims needed limb amputation while a considerable number ofthose survived had different degrees of disability. Conclusion: this study concludes that land-mine injuries are still a common problem in the north ofIraq with a disastrous outcome.