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Hatred blinds the person consumed by it, and they do no consider the consequences of their violent acts. This is exactly what the Houthi militias have been doing.
In such times, it becomes difficult to even conceive of something resembling a normal life. The day to day lives of the Yemeni people have been largely consumed by trying to survive in the midst of such a terrible conflict, with landmines an ever-present threat with devastating consequences, including the loss of life and limb on a near-daily basis.
The tragedies occurring in Yemen happen in rapid succession, set to the stage of massive areas of mined terrain. The charred wreckage of cars and the remnants of explosions are a frequent sight along Yemeni roads.
Many landmine victims have lost their families and their livelihoods, and still more have been crippled through amputations and shrapnel wounds.
Yesterday, the Yemeni people woke to yet another tragedy that shook the residents of the Al Jawf Governorate, after a landmine destroyed a car carrying children and their families, while traveling from their refugee camp near Jabal Shihat to a market in the city of Al Hazm.
This resulted in the deaths of two children, 13-year-old Jamal Mabkhut Hamad Mutlaq and his older brother, 15-year-old Mohsen Mabkhut Hamad Mutlaq. Three other children were injured, 18-year-old Ali Mabkhut Hamad Mutlaq and 17-year-old Ayed Askar Hamad Mutlaq seriously so, and 16-year-old Mansour Mubarak Hamad Mutlaq moderately so.
The use of landmines, IEDs, and other explosive devices has been commonplace by the Houthi militias since they first appeared. The widespread atrocities committed by these militias has been compounded by a lack of international attention. Over time, their methods have become more sophisticated, and subsequently, more destructive.
Yemen will need decades to recover from what is happening today – generations, in fact – to the extent that the long-term consequences of the Houthi’s actions are impossible to predict.