‘I walked across one of Iraq’s deadly minefields - this is the very important reason why’

In the sloping mountains of the Amedi district of Iraqi Kurdistan, you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon heaven on earth.

Even in the blazing June sun, leafy trees mark the theatrical inclines of the valleys that give this spot its striking views. But all is not as it seems here. It may look like paradise, but hidden under the surface are dozens of deadly landmines.

It is against this stunning backdrop that I find myself, at just after nine on a Tuesday morning, preparing to walk through an active minefield.

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I’ve travelled to Kurdish Iraq with Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a Manchester-based charity who find and destroy landmines in places affected by conflict. I’m here to see their life-saving work up close, and why it is important - even decades after conflict has ended.

MAG has been working in Iraq since 1992, but in one of the most highly contaminated places on earth, there are still decades to go before the country is completely safe.

I’m kitted out in full protective gear - a thick body armour vest, visor, and helmet; the same outfit that MAG’s skilled deminers wear while on the field. It’s hot - even this early in the morning I can feel myself starting to sweat underneath the heavy fabric.

I am about to climb the Shikr Arab minefield, which is believed to have been contaminated with mines laid during the Iran - Iraq war of the 1980s. Nothing about this particular site is easy; the earth is loose and dusty, the terrain rocky, and the mines are littered across a huge, steep hill.

The winding path is marked out by red and white sticks, dictating safe and unsafe ground. As I begin two deminers stop to