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The areas of Al-Jawf Governorate are home to a terrible crowd of mines planted by the Houthis over the past years randomly without maps.
People’s tragedies in Al-Jawf abounded and the victims of mines became a non stop enumeration, and the traps in this governorate are thirsty for blood and deadly explosions sounds.
Last Thursday, Yemeni citizen Mubarak Saleh Al-Megrahi went to offer condolences for the death of a friend’s son in a landmine explosion, and he did not expect that the same fate awaited him.
The Yemeni Landmine observatory, an observatory concerned with documenting mine victims in Yemen, says that, Al-Megrahi is from Shabwa governorate, and he came with his brother Salem to Al-Jawf governorate to offer condolences to a friend, but a landmine exploded them in Al-Muhashima area of Khub Al-Sha`af directorate, while they were returning back the Al-Megrahi got killed and his brother wounded.
In the same directorate and other directorates in the governorate, most notably, Al-Matoun directorate, mines monitor citizen’s movement and their victims fall almost daily as a result of these mines.
A local official source told “ Shikhawa “ that a landmine exploded in a citizen named Hamid Ahmed Shaiban in Ham Mountains, Al-Matun directorate in the western side of Al-Jawf governorate, indicating that during the explosion the man was collecting firewood to support his family from this profession.
The local authorities in the strategic governorate, parts of which are bordering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, say that, the governorate is facing a catastrophic situation due to its contamination with mines.
Abdul Hadi Al-Assar, Director of the Human Rights Office in Al-Jawf Governorate, confirmed that the governorate is in a catastrophic situation as a result of the Houthis intensive cultivation of mines in large areas of the governorate.
Al-Assar showed the following: “Most of Al-Jawf Governorate is contaminated with mines. During the past years, the Houthis have planted large fields of mines randomly without maps.”
And went on, detailing, “The Houthis not only planted mines in military areas, but they planted them in roads, government buildings, schools, farms, and areas where citizens move.”
Al-Assar also confirmed that the directorate of Khub Al-Sha’af, Al-Ghail, Al-Maslub, Al-Hazm and Al-Matun are the most directorates in the governorate in which the Houthis planted extensive networks of mines, saying, “We record civilian casualties on daily basis, and 815 cases of mine violation were monitored from 2015 until the end of last year.”
According to Al-Assar statements, the victims of these violations for the past four years are 190 dead, 385 cases of injury, maiming and disability, in addition to 78 cases of vehicle destruction, and about 165 cases of psychological damage to the victims relatives and families.
Since the beginning of this year, dozens of victims have fallen, and work is still underway to collect information and monitor cases, as the situation in Al-Jawf is catastrophic due to mine’s civilian casualties.
The local human rights official also appealed to the concerned authorities to contribute to clearing contaminated areas and pressuring the Houthis to immediately stop planting more explosive death traps.
For his part, a Yemeni local observer said, “Civilian casualties caused by mines are almost daily in Al-Jawf, and that many damages happened to the agricultural sector for which the vast Governorate is famous for.”
Mabkhout Athban, a member of the team of Al-Jawf Organization for Liberties and Human Rights, a “civil organization,” said that, mine accidents are frequent in Al-Jawf, and their victims are transformed into mere numbers in addition to the suffering of those who face permanent disabilities.
He added, “In Al-Jawf, civilians pay a heavy bill due to the Houthis indiscriminate planting of mines in civilian areas,” stressing that “through our monitoring of mine accidents, most of the victims fell while using the roads, as well as their farms or livestock grazing areas.”
According to Athban, who also works as an observer cooperating with the Yemeni Landmine Observers, mine accidents have increased during the past weeks and months, especially in the directorates of Khub Al-Sha`af, Al-Hazm, Al-Ghail, Al-Masloub, and Al-Matoun, and caused, in addition to civilian casualties, depriving farmers from using agricultural lands, as well as exposing dozens of vehicles, agricultural equipment for destruction, while large areas that were used by citizens to graze livestock were turned into death fields.
Rights and Information Committee in Al-Jawf Governorate said a few days ago, “The mines planted by the Houthis last week resulted in the death and injury of more than 20 civilians.”
And considered that, “such acts and violations are inconsistent with all local and international treaties and moral norms.”
The governmental committee called on “international and regional human rights organizations to pressure the Houthi militia to quickly remove the mines that they planted in a numerous areas.”