The director of the Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC) has claimed that Project Masam is one of the most successful humanitarian landmine clearance projects working in Yemen.
Brigadier General Ameen Al-Aqili was part of a high-level meeting held between the Project Masam’s Managing Director Ousama Algosaibi, and the leaders of the engineering teams in Aden and the West Coast, as well as members of YEMAC.
During the meeting, Al-Aqili said that he believes that in collaboration with Project Masam, in coordination with YEMAC, have been able to decrease the number of landmine victims and bring life back to normal in several areas across Yemen.
Al-Aqili added that the awareness campaigns launched by Masam teams in all the areas in which they operate have contributed to a great extent to spreading awareness across Yemeni society about the danger of landmines, and the importance of immediately reporting them, and avoiding touching them.
The Brigadier General added that despite the field difficulties and the lack of maps showing the places where landmines are planted, Masam teams could overcome most of these difficulties, and thanks to the continuous qualitative training and qualification process they receive under Masam’s experts, the deminers can now handle every type of unconventional landmines manufactured by the Houthi militia.
Outstanding humanitarian landmine llearance success
Meanwhile, Brigadier General Qaid Haitham Halboub, Director of the Executive Office for Mine Action in Aden, stated that Masam’s engineering teams have made great progress in their fieldwork thanks to their training and qualification under the experts’ supervision.
Haitham added that the skills and experiences gained by the demining teams over the past years have enabled them to neutralise camouflaged landmines and explosive devices manufactured by the militia.
The director indicated that the successful collaboration between Project Masam and YEMAC had a significant role in overcoming field difficulties faced by the engineering teams.
Algosaibi, praised the collaboration between the YEMAC and the Masam Project, which has notably facilitated the work of the engineering teams working in the different Yemeni governorates. He also extended his thanks to Brigadier General Haitham for the warm reception and hospitality.
Directions and recommendations
Algosaibi held an extended meeting with the leaders of the engineering teams working in Aden and the West Coast during which he discussed the work progress and the achievements made so far.
They discussed the difficulties they face during their fieldwork. Algosaibi stressed the importance of believing in the vision and mission of Project Masam, doubling efforts, and facing all difficulties with utmost care and the highest standards.
Algosaibi called upon the demining teams to commit fully to all safety standards during their fieldwork since the first mistake in this field can be the last since as he put it, “we are facing a different war and different landmines that target those who try to remove them before anyone else”.
The managing director lauded also the efforts exerted by Masam’s teams working in the different Yemeni governorates, highlighting that the skills and experience of the Masam teams are continuously developed and that they now have the necessary skills to handle all types of landmines and explosives manufactured by the militia.
