Four civilians, including a child, were killed in a landmine explosion in an area south of Hudaydah governorate in western Yemen.
Yemen is one of the countries most affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war, which have caused the deaths and injuries of thousands of civilians since the Houthi group, classified as a terrorist organisation, took control of the country in August 2014. According to United Nations (UN) reports, the group, also known as Ansar Allah, is the only party in Yemen responsible for planting mines, with an estimated total of more than two million landmines.
Local sources confirmed that the mine detonated on 5 March as the victims were passing through a region northeast of the Al-Durayhimi district, killing them instantly.
According to human rights sources, the victims were Fawzi Khalil Hakami, 37, and Fouad Ahmed Ali Qubaa, 30, both beekeepers, as well as a child, Abdulrahman, from the Ibb governorate. The three were searching for a suitable location to transport their hives when the mine exploded. Another victim later died in hospital.
This incident comes just days after two children were killed in Shabwah governorate, in central Yemen, following the explosion of an explosive device left by Houthi militias. The children stumbled upon the device while grazing camels in the Krumum area of the Nisab district.
The Ministry of Human Rights in the internationally recognised government reported that between 2014 and 2024, the number of casualties from Houthi mines reached 4,501 deaths and 5,083 injuries, as stated by Minister of Human Rights Ahmed Arman to the Masam Landmine Clearance Project – Yemen.
The statement also revealed that Taiz governorate had the highest number of victims, with 964 deaths and 1,321 injuries, followed by Hudaydah governorate, which recorded 835 deaths and 586 injuries.
Al-Jawf governorate ranked third, with 505 killed and 813 injured, followed by Al-Bayda governorate, which had 409 killed and 330 injured, and Marib governorate, which reported 400 deaths and 778 injuries.
