Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 380,887 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 5,985 anti-personnel mines, 135,648 anti-tank mines, 7,672 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 231,582 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 42,916,981sqm of land since mid-2018.
Since the conflict between Yemen’s pro-government forces and Houthi militias escalated in 2014, liberated strategic areas have been left littered with Houthi anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines, along with unexploded remnants of war.
Last week (31 December 2022 – 6 January 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 1,282 deadly items, including six anti-personnel mines, 123 anti-tank mines, 1,151 UXO and two IEDs, effectively clearing 272,960sqm of land, which has now been returned to civilians, according to Project Masam Managing Director Ousama Algosaibi.
Up to five million people are estimated to have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen – many of them displaced by the presence of landmines on their land.
Masam teams are tasked to clear areas of immediate humanitarian priority: villages, roads, schools, etc… in order to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and humanitarian goods and services.
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