Iraqi Civil Defense responds to smoke from Ramadi landfill near residential areas

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Anbar's provincial Civil Defense Directorate deployed teams to a garbage storage site in Ramadi after smoke from the landfill spread to nearby residential neighborhoods, the provincial directorate said. Smoke and foul odor from the site had reached nearby homes, prompting residents of the Sura and Siyariyah areas to report health concerns and call for emergency intervention. Residents warned of suffocation risks and the potential spread of disease, urging authorities to relocate the landfill away from housing and to a location that would not pose a public health threat. Local residents had also called on the government, oversight bodies and health authorities to act. Civil Defense teams moved to contain the source of the smoke and reduce its impact on surrounding neighborhoods, coordinating with relevant agencies. The directorate said measures would be put in place, in coordination with the relevant institutions, to prevent the smoke from rising again. No further details were immediately available on the duration of the cleanup or any planned relocation of the site.