Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 388,433 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 6,060 anti-personnel mines, 136,779 anti-tank mines, 7,728 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 237,866 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 44,635,070sqm 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 (18 February – 24 February 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 882 deadly items, including five anti-personnel mines, 195 anti-tank mines, 681 UXO and one improvised explosive device (IED), effectively clearing 278,000sqm 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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