Project Masam’s deminers have removed demolished anti-tank mines on the coast of the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Al-Ardi area of Dhubab district, west of Yemen’s Taiz governorate.
The leader of demining Team 19, Engineer Khaled Daoud, stated that at least four mines were discovered during an operation to secure the coast of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, based on a report from a fisherman who found a foreign object on the coast, and several explosions that had previously occurred in the area.
“Houthi militias have indiscriminately planted mines extensively on the coasts and mountains of the Bab al-Mandab Strait,” Daoud said.
“In recent months, mine explosions hit many fishermen while they were going to sea to fish,” he explained “This has also led to the death of many amphibians on the coast of the strait, such as turtles, as they came out of the water to lay their eggs in the sand.”
Daoud added: “Mines laid on the coast of the Bab al-Mandab Strait threaten the lives of fishermen and amphibians, and impede maritime traffic in one of the world’s most important straits.”
“Project Masam continues its tireless efforts to clear Yemeni territory of mines and explosive devices, which were planted indiscriminately by the Houthi militias, without any regard for the lives of civilians. Since its launch at the end of June 2018, the project has removed and destroyed more than 446,000 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and cleared more than 57 million square metres of Yemeni territory.”
Every year, some 24,000 vessels sail through the Bab al Mandab Straight transporting 10% of the global seaborne trade by volume, according to the Economist.
