Project Masam’s demining Team 38 has successfully dismantled and cleared four anti-personnel landmines in the Midi district of Hajjah governorate, northern Yemen. The announcement was made by the team leader, Saif al-Mashmari, who explained that the mines had been planted by Houthi forces in agricultural and vital areas north of the district.
Al-Mashmari stated that these mines were part of a wider pattern in which large areas of farmland and grazing land were deliberately seeded with explosives. He said this practice has disrupted the lives of thousands of local people, preventing them from working their land, moving safely across their villages, or tending to their livestock.
The Midi district, located on Yemen’s northwestern coast near the border with Saudi Arabia, has been heavily affected by the conflict that escalated in 2015. The Houthis have used landmines extensively in many parts of the country, making Yemen one of the most heavily mined nations in the world today. These mines continue to kill and injure civilians, block humanitarian aid, and hinder the return of displaced families.
Project Masam, a humanitarian landmine clearance project launched by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) in 2018, operates across Yemen with specialised teams such as Team 38. The project’s mission is to clear mines, improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance in order to protect civilians and support safe recovery in affected areas.
Al-Mashmari underlined that the operations in Midi are part of Project Masam’s broader efforts to restore safety and stability. “These activities save lives, protect communities, and allow families who have been displaced to come back to their homes and farms,” he said. “Our goal is to make it possible for people to live and work without fear.”
The removal of the four mines in Midi represents a small but important step in a much larger effort. Tens of thousands of mines remain scattered across Yemen, and clearing them is a slow, dangerous, and highly technical process. For the residents of Midi, however, even limited clearance work provides a measure of relief and hope, as it gradually opens the way to normal life and renewed livelihoods.
