The Yemeni Minister of Water and Environment Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi has described how Project Masam has contributed to mitigate the effects and repercussions of humanitarian and environmental disasters caused by Houthi landmines in Yemen.
In cooperation with the Yemeni government, Masam succeeded in clearing large quantities of landmines in heavily contaminated areas – notably the West Coast, Taiz, Marib, Shabwah, Harib and other Yemeni regions.
In an interview with daily newspaper Al-Riyadh, the Yemeni Minister said: “Most regrettably, the Houthi militias planted landmines widely and indiscriminately in most of the areas they entered or even failed to enter, over the years of the war.
“Most of these mines were planted in highly populated areas, roads, agricultural lands, villages, fields, and even mines into the asphalt and deserts adjacent to highways – effectively spreading a viral epidemic.”
Al-Sharjabi added that planting mines have been planted for no direct military purpose, in highly populated areas and without maps, which he claimed is an effort to target civilians.
The Minister was quoted saying Houthis’ use of landmines against non-military targets is a “war of extermination against the broadest possible range of […] people.”
This had has significantly affected a number of humanitarian areas, including hampering civilian movement, death and injury of thousands of civilians, suspension of economic movement in some areas as well as disruption of water supplies and agricultural activity, among others.
These mines prevented many farmers from reaching their farms and lands, thus disrupting the cultivation process in large hectares of agricultural land, some of which turned to waste.
In terms of economy and livelihoods, he noted that there is now at least 20 per cent less agricultural land than there was pre-war, but efforts are made to continue clearing agricultural land as fast and as safely as possible.
“We salute the efforts of the Saudi-funded Project Masam, as it has already provided a great service in this aspect and its efforts deserve our appreciation,” Al-Sharjabi told the newspaper.
Yemen is currently participating in the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh, where the President of the Republic of Yemen told world leaders that Houthi landmines have caused land degradation, hampered irrigation and destroyed ecosystems.
