Al-Anbar landfill off-limits as Iraqi army blocks violation probe
Shafaq News/ Authorities in al-Anbar are struggling to access a landfill site in the Hit district due to security restrictions imposed by Iraqi forces controlling the area.
'The imposed limitations have prevented environmental committees and field monitoring teams from visiting the location, documenting violations, or taking legal measures,' Al-Anbar Environment Director Qais Naji explained to Shafaq News.
He pointed to the formation of a committee to explore relocating the landfill, but noted that the municipality continues to use the current site.
Naji blamed unidentified individuals—informal waste pickers—for setting fires inside the landfill, noting that 'the residents of Hit attribute the area's worsening air quality to waste burning.'
In turn, the spokesperson for the al-Anbar Health Directorate, Mohammed Al-Qaisi told our agency that multiple environmental complaints have been filed regarding air pollution in Hit.
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