With every mine removed and destroyed, a life is saved in Yemen. Ensuring life without landmines in Yemen is Project Masam’s main mission and it has harnessed deminers’ energies and capabilities for over five years now.
In this context, Project Masam’s Team 25 was able to restore life to civilians’ farms in Wadi Dhama in Maqbanah district in Taiz governorate, after removing over 30 anti-tank mines.
The leader of Team 25 said that three dangerous mines were difficult to transport to Project Masam’s destruction site, so the special task force was called in to destroy these mines in situ.
Sheikh Adel Bagash, the chief of Al-Suwaihra area, confirmed that Project Masam intervened in Wadi Dhama and removed mines from the valley and farms, allowing farmers to return to their land and reclaim them.
Sheikh Bagash asked Project Masam to continue its humanitarian clearance work in Wadi Dhama to rid the area of existing landmines and other remnants of war.
Ongoing clearance across Yemen’s liberated land
Meanwhile, in the village of Bani Zuhair, west of Hays district, to the south of Al Hodeidah governorate, Project Masam teams secured homes, farms, water sources and roads leading to them. Clearance, which also included schools and health centres, allowed civilians to return home following a difficult displacement period that lasted for years.
In the districts of the western coast, Project Masam secured the health center in the village of Bani Zuhair and contributed to the restoration of this important service facility, allowing professionals to resume its services and end the suffering of patients who had to travel to the district’s other health centres, or neighbouring districts, in search of medical treatment.
The leader of the Masam Team 26, whose team carried out the task of securing the health centre, told Project Masam: “We removed nine IEDs [improvised explosive devices] which the militia used to booby-trap the health centre, secured the building, and opened many roads and tracks from the eastern, western and southern sides, with only a few parts left on the northern side that will be secured in the next few days.”
Ali bin Ali Zuhair, Secretary-General of the Local Council in Hays district, said that the intervention of Project Masam teams in the village saved the health centre from destruction, in addition to saving some vital facilities in the area, such as the water project, noting that people in the village of Bani Zuhair were forced to travel long distances to go to the district’s health centre to access healthcare.
In response to a report submitted by a civilian, Project Masam’s Survey Team began a survey and clearance of pastures in the Al-Darb area of the Harib district, south of Marib governorate.
In a statement, the leader of the Survey Team confirmed that his team is currently working to re-survey and secure grazing areas in the Al-Darb area in Harib District after civilians reported the discovery of landmines by shepherds.
The leader of the Survey Team applauded Harib district civilians’ awareness and their implementation of Project Masam’s instructions not to tamper with mines, not entering any areas that Project Masam teams have not yet secured in order to ensure their safety.
