Project Masam’s Team 19 has successfully cleared and secured three mine-contaminated fields between August and October 2024, covering a total area of 43,000 square metres.
These minefields are located in the Sheikh Saeed area along the coast of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, in the Dhubab district of Taiz governorate, western Yemen. The area, used as a defensive position by Houthi militias during the battlefront of Taiz in 2017, was left littered by mixed threats: banned anti-personnel landmines and anti-tank landmines as well as other remnants of war of all sizes.
While government troops regained control of the area and surrounding cities throughout 2017 and 2018, former positions east of Dhubab, which are today used by civilians to heard sheep and collect firewood, remain contaminated with mixed explosive threats.
In a statement, deminer Khaled Daoud, leader of demining Team 19, explained that the team responded to urgent requests from local authorities in Dhubab to clear the region, which had experienced several tragic incidents due to mine explosions. Several herders, and their animals, have been injured and killed in this area.
Daoud also recalled a tragic event involving the engineering team of the Sudanese forces, who were part of the Arab coalition’s efforts to liberate the western coast. During the operation, an anti-personnel mine exploded, resulting in the amputation of the leg of one of the Sudanese engineers.
The leader of Team 19 also highlighted the significant toll that landmines have taken on local Yemeni fishermen, who have sustained numerous injuries while fishing along the coast. In addition, landmines have killed marine creatures that rely on the sandy shores of the Bab al-Mandab Strait to lay their eggs.
Daoud further explained that the cleared landmines were diverse in nature, including 27 anti-tank mines, 10 anti-personnel mines, and 35 unexploded shells.
He condemned the Houthi militia for not only planting mines indiscriminately but also booby-trapping them with the intent to maximise civilian casualties.
Emphasising the strategic importance of the Bab al-Mandab region to both local authorities and fishermen, Daoud assured that his team would continue its humanitarian mission to clear the area of all mines and remnants of war, ensuring a safer environment for both people and wildlife.
