Project Masam has announced that its demining teams have now located and destroyed 516,499 explosive devices in Yemen’s liberated areas since the project began in mid-2018.
This cumulative total includes 6,885 anti-personnel mines, 147,382 anti-tank mines, 353,955 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO), and 8,277 improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Over this period, clearance operations have made more than 70,912,138 square metres of land safe for civilian use.
Since the conflict escalated in 2014 between Yemen’s pro-government forces and Houthi militias, vast areas of the country have been heavily contaminated with mines, UXO, and other remnants of war. Strategic regions remain severely affected, with estimates suggesting that the Houthis have planted between one and two million mines nationwide.
During the most recent reporting week, spanning 20 to 26 September 2025, Masam teams removed 1,280 explosive devices. These included eight anti-personnel mines, 113 anti-tank mines, 1,158 items of UXO, and one IED. In the same period, teams cleared 316,571 square metres of land.
This followed the week of 13 to 19 September 2025, in which Masam cleared 275,592 square metres and removed 1,026 explosive devices, including 21 anti-personnel mines, 67 anti-tank mines, and 938 UXO.
Project Masam continues to prioritise its humanitarian mission of clearing mines in civilian areas, including villages, roads, schools, and key infrastructure, to allow safer movement for families and aid workers.
It is estimated that up to five million Yemenis have been displaced since the start of the war, many forced from their homes by the widespread presence of landmines and explosive remnants of war. Seasonal sand and dust storms in recent weeks have added to the danger, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of accidental encounters with mines, particularly in areas where clearance is still underway.
For regular updates on Project Masam’s life-saving operations and expert insights into humanitarian mine action, follow the project on Twitter and LinkedIn.
