Fires and armed conflict take toll on Kurdish flora, fauna
The mountains of Iraq's Kurdistan region are threatened by man-made and natural wildfires that are difficult to control because of a lack of firefighting resources and manpower.
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — Hawraman Sajadi nearly lost his life a year ago trying to help firefighters during a forest fire in the Bafri Miri Mountains, in Iraq’s Halabja region, bordering Iran.
When fire broke out on that hot summer day last July, Sajadi and two friends had set out on foot to take food and water to the two dozen firefighters battling the fire. They were unfamiliar with the terrain. As they walked along, one of them spotted a sand-colored anti-personnel mine. Terrified, the group then noticed several more mines around them.
