Project Masam has announced it has located and destroyed 390,586 explosive devices in Yemeni liberated areas.
These include 6,065 anti-personnel mines, 137,197 anti-tank mines, 7,741 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and 239,583 unexploded ordnance (UXO) neutralised over 45,099,301sqm 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 (4 –10 March 2023) alone, Project Masam deminers removed 880 deadly items, including three anti-personnel mines, 198 anti-tank mines, 677 UXO and two improvised explosive devices (IEDs), effectively clearing 248,623sqm 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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