Masam’s engineering teams, working in the Mocha district on Yemen’s western coast, have successfully secured hundreds of farms in Al-Ramah, the largest agricultural area in Taiz governorate.
Engineer Hassan Al-Jubouri, supervisor of Masam’s engineering teams working in the West Coast and leader of Team 27, confirmed that the teams successfully secured 250 farms in the Al-Ramah area, that were planted with large quantities of landmines effectively preventing civilians from entering and cultivating area for over five years.
Al-Jabouri said that Masam formed six engineering teams to work in the villages and farms of the Mocha district and managed, over the past years, to secure 85 per cent of the farms, allowing civilians to return to their land and livelihoods.
The team leader added Masam engineering teams are still operating in the area, for a fifth year in a row. This emergency operation aims to deal swiftly and directly with all the reports sent by residents, in order to secure homes and farms.
Al-Jabouri pointed out that the most important areas that Masam’s teams managed to secure in the Mocha district are the areas of Al-Ramah, Yakhtal, Al-Qatabiya, Al-Zahari, Al-Marawsheh, and Nuba Amer, all of which are agricultural and residential areas.
Schools able to re-open
He also noted that schools located in the Al-Ramah area had stopped their educational services due to landmines planted around these facilities and the roads leading to them.
As soon as Masam’s teams started the operation, deminers managed to secure these schools and open roads leading to them, so that the students could return to their schools safely.
Al-Jabouri confirmed that Masam teams are on heightened alert and are ready to deal with any reports of explosions or sightings in order to deal with these threats directly and immediately to save civilian lives.
He also noted that Masam’s teams have extended experience and skills acquired during their work over the past years through training courses that Masam project experts carry out on an ongoing basis.
Last week, Masam’s teams successfully destroyed and detonated 170 landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Mocha district.
According to Masam’s task team leader, Monzer Qassem, the destruction process included five landmines and one improvised explosive device (IED) along with 44 UXO and tens of ammunition and fuzes.
Qassem said that the destruction operation, carried out by his team, is the second in a week.
Early last week, Qassem’s team carried out an operation to destroy and blow up 59 mines and UXO in the directorate of Khokha, province of Hodeidah.
