Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 384,895 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 6,033 anti-personnel mines, 136,190 anti-tank mines, 7,678 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 234,994 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 43,845,128sqm 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 (28 January – 3 February 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 674 deadly items, including five anti-personnel mines, 129 anti-tank mines, 540 UXO and one IED, effectively clearing 232,960sqm 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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