Since it began in 2014, the civil war in Yemen has kept evolving. From changes in local power dynamics and the forced enrolment of child soldiers to the use of banned anti-personnel landmines and modified explosive devices, these developments have all been at the expense of Yemeni civilians.
According to Project Masam, 85% of all landmines that have been removed by the programme’s Yemeni demining teams so far in 2021 have been locally-manufactured, and those excavated and neutralised recently have presented complex and more sophisticated technical aspects.
Project Masam has found strong evidence the Houthis have modified and planted landmines to include anti-lift devices, which explode when an attempt is made to remove and clear the mine, effectively directly targeting deminers across Yemen.
To ensure the safety of the demining teams, Project Masam’s experts are keeping up with the technology and developing counter methods to safely deal with these modified mines.
Watch our Operations Manager, Retief Horn, discuss how Project Masam provides specialised booby-trapped mine removal training here.
