A delegation of the United Nations (UN) Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) has visited Project Masam teams working in the liberated areas of Hudaydah Governorate.
During the visit on Saturday (12 August), the international delegation was represented by expert Leon Visagi Lou, assistant Iveta Havaikova, and political affairs coordinator Muhammad Ismail Khan.
The delegation visited the working areas of teams 25 and 27, and was briefed by Project Masam staff on the nature of the region, and the density and types of the mines that were planted there. The delegation members heard about the number of the victims of landmines in the region, especially the victims of the internationally banned anti-personnel mines which were manufactured by the Houthi militia.
The delegation was also briefed on the role of Project Masam’s demining teams with regards to the process of clearing the area, and heard about an accident during which the explosion of an anti-personnel mines led to the amputation of both feet of a member of Team 25, deminer Fadl Al-Falawi.
Project Masam officials also described the difficulties that the teams face in the area due to sand dunes and the migration of mines from one place to another as a result of the torrential rains in the area.
During the visit, the UN delegation viewed a model of locally manufactured mines removed from the field, and listened to a detailed explanation about their mechanism and the methods used by the militia to plant mines.
Afterwards, the delegation travelled to Al-Humayniyyah, where Team 26 was working, and visited a school which was destroyed by the Houthi militia, as well as a water project in the area.
Then, the team travelled to Sha’b Bani Zuhair, where the medical centre, which Project Masam teams cleared of explosive devices, is located. Work has begun in this centre after the completion of landmine clearance and restoration.
The tour of the UN delegation included a visit to the main water tank of Hays district, which was destroyed by the Houthi militia. There they also heard about Project Masam’s clearance work to remove mines around it.
