With its motto “Life without landmines” in mind, Project Masam has been striving to secure vital facilities across Yemen.
The latest to date is the Al-Shaab School in Akkad village, where headmaster Ahmed Muhammad Al-Barakani said that Project Masam teams enabled the educational process to return to its previous state in the school after the deminers completely secured the area from mines. Al-Barakani described their efforts as having saved their school from mines.
The leader of Masam’s demining Team 6 stated that his team was able to secure about 35,000 square meters in Shaqt al-Tayyar area on minfield No. 2 in Usaylan desert, after removing 20 anti-personnel mines.
He explained that in the now secured area, the deminers removed a number of Houthi mines and explosive devices. Shaqt al-Tayyar is a vital area for sheep and camel herders, who found themselves in dire need of its clearance to be able to graze their sheep and camels freely and safely. After receiving a report, Project Masam understood the importance of the area and was quick to dispatch Team 6 there.
Elsewhere, Adel Ghanem, Chief of the 17th Giants Brigade Operations in Bab al-Mandeb, said that another report had been filed to ask for help after locals discovered a number of explosive devices and mines in the area.
Team members’ response was rapid, Ghanem said, adding that Masam’s demining team immediately moved towards the mined area and handled the situation with utter caution and professionalism.
In Al-Khawkhah district, the deputy leader of Masam Team 26 pointed out that the village of Bani Fartout was extensively planted with mines, and thanks to Masam’s efforts, anti-personnel mines and pressure plate-operated mines were removed.
Because of the presence of mines, the deputy leader explained that Bani Fartout villagers were forced to flee to areas of displacement but following the clearance operations, families began returning to their village and get back their homes and lands, where many returned to cultivating their fields. Unfortunately, some displaced villagers have returned to their villages without realising they hadn’t been completely cleared.
Civilian Yahya Ali Salem, from the village of Al-Aqd in Al-Khawkhah district, said that he and many of his fellow villagers were forced to flee because of the mines, and when they returned to their area, a mine exploded on the outskirts of the village, causing the death of his sheep.
He said: Team 26 hurried after this incident to secure our village and our farms, and we were able, thanks to God and thanks to the efforts of this project, to return to our homes and farms and re-plow and cultivate them safely, while waiting to secure all other farms so that we can resume work and harvesting.”
Director General of the Education Office in Bayhan District of Shabwah Governorate, Mr. Ali Al-Salihi, thanked Masam’s engineering teams for securing many areas, villages and farms in Bayhan.
He said: “Masam teams’ role is like a doctor who treats a patient and tries to save his life.”
“Masam’s engineering teams work to limit the occurrence of danger or injury to civilians.”
Director General of Bayhan District, Shabwah Governorate, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Fatimi, meanwhile, praised the clearance efforts, which he said had a major role in normalising the situation and restoring life to the district after securing most of the residential and agricultural areas, roads, paths, and other vital areas.
Acting Director General of the Health Office in Bayhan, Shabwah District, and the Director of Al-Dafiee General Hospital Dr. Ahmed Qumailan, meanwhile, added: “Masam’s engineering teams sacrifice their lives so that others may live. In fact, Project Masam is a beacon of hope for civilians, whether in Bayhan district or in the various governorates, because it gets rid of this epidemic in most of the Yemeni lands, and returns life to normal.”
