As the battle for the strategic northern city of Marib continues to flares up between government forces and Houthi militias, Project Masam clearance teams have been adapting activities and approaches amid these moving frontlines.
“We are not allowing the Masam Teams to work in areas where they might be harmed due to the ongoing battles around Marib, as the work that we do is dangerous enough as is: we do not want to expose the teams to any other external threats,” Operations Manager, Retief Horn, said on 25 June from Marib.
Given the rapidity at which the frontlines are shifting, Horn said the teams are anticipating large numbers of newly-laid minefields in occupied territories.
“We have not had any reports of mines found in residential areas thus far, but I am sure that we will find them whenever the Houthis are driven out from those occupied areas, as we have had some reports that the Houthis are setting up camp in and around schools in the Sirwah district, Azur area, that is located 20km west from Masam’s Marib headquarters.”
Recently, Project Masam teams were called to assist with clearance where a military vehicle drove over a mine in a previously cleared area but recently occupied by Houthi forces. “Military personnel were injured in the blast,” Horn added.
In Marib, the teams have cleared 2,445sqm between 19 and 25 June, effectively locating and destroying 13 anti-tank mines and nine unexploded ordnance.
Some 150km away, Horn said mine clearance teams were facing the same situation.
“We do have teams working in Al Jawf that are finding newly-laid mine fields that have been liberated from the Houthis and are currently under friendly military control. Most of these areas have been identified by the military and they are asking the assistance of Masam teams to clear and make these areas safe.”
In Al Jawf, the teams cleared 88,500sqm, locating 96 anti-tank mines and 58 UXO within the same period.
Since it first entered Yemen in mid-2018, Project Masam has located and destroyed 257,976 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas covering 23,834,486 sqm.
