Project Masam is proud to announce it has reached a milestone of 350,000 explosive items located, removed and destroyed across Yemen, as it continues its life-saving work to protect civilians.
Operating since mid-2018, Masam currently has 32 teams working in liberated areas across the country and conducts humanitarian clearance in accordance with priorities set by the Yemeni National Authority.
On 17 July 2022, Managing Director and Programme Manager Ousama Algosaibi announced the teams had cleared a total of 350,421 anti-personnel landmines, anti-tank landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
“This is another huge milestone for our demining teams and for Yemenis. Our outstanding teams have been hard at work since Day One with one goal in mind: to clear Yemen from as many deadly explosive items as possible.
“We are proud of their achievements, given the fragile situation of operating in an active war zone.
“This breakthrough comes just weeks after we welcomed the contract renewal for a fifth year for Project Masam in June.”
The use of anti-personnel landmines is prohibited under the 1997 Mine Ban Convention, to which 164 countries are party. In 1997, the Yemeni government signed the Mine Ban Treaty which outlaws the production, stockpiling, export, and indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines.
So far, the Saudi-funded programme has cleared a total of 35,841,178 sqm of liberated land in Aden, Al-Jawf, Aldala’a, Al-Hudaydah, Marib, Shabwah and Taiz.
