Giving an update about the situation in Yemen’s Usailan Directorate, the Deputy Director of the National Mine Action Program Muntather Al-Radfani warned about new, more widespread methods used to plant anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in the region.
The country’s central energy-rich Shabwah Governorate has been a central frontline in the conflict between Houthi militias and pro-government forces and has been littered with anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines and other remnants of war.
This week, Al-Radfani oversaw the demolition of 6,800 landmines and other remnants of war that Project Masam had located and cleared over eight days as part of Yemen’s National Mine Action Program emergency response.
Speaking on the demolition site, the Deputy Director warned that mine laying methods in the province have changed, making clearance efforts more difficult and time-consuming.
“The methods of laying mines differed from the past. The opposition excelled in inventing other and harmful ways of laying mines, in an advanced manner from the past periods that we had experienced before. This required greater efforts and even more focus to be able to remove, assemble, disassemble and bring them to the demolition site,” Al-Radfani said from Usailan.
“Unfortunately in Usailan Directorate, after we were about to eradicate the presence of mines there once and for all, the mine planting procedure began again, but in a larger, wider and more harmful manner in widespread areas with very large quantities. This will unfortunately require longer a period of time despite the great efforts made – this period could be years to completely finish the demining process.”
Al-Radhani described how an astronomical amount of landmines and war remnants had been found in the streets and surroundings of some facilities in Usaylan Directorate over a period of a week. “Those remnants represented a terrible nightmare for civilians, including students, shepherds, farmers and other professions,” he added.
Project Masam, which currently has seven demining teams operating in Usailan, last week condemned the manufacturing, use and planting of newly found anti-tank landmines Managing Director Ousama Algosaibi described as “bigger than ever seen before” in Shabwah Governorate.
