Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 382,094 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 5,999 anti-personnel mines, 135,763 anti-tank mines, 7,673 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 232,659 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 43,191,057sqm 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 (6 January – 13 January 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 1,207 deadly items, including 14 anti-personnel mines, 115 anti-tank mines, 1,077 UXO and one IED, effectively clearing 274,076sqm 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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