Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 389,706 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 6,062 anti-personnel mines, 136,999 anti-tank mines, 7,739 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 238,906 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 44,850,678sqm 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 (25 February – 3 March 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 1,273 deadly items, including 11 anti-personnel mines, 220 anti-tank mines, 1,040 UXO and one improvised explosive device (IED), effectively clearing 215,608sqm 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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