Barran Press
The Saudi Project for the Clearance of Yemeni Lands from Mines (MASAM) announced on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, that it had dismantled 772 mines, explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance in Bab el-Mandeb (southwest Yemen). The project attributed these explosives to the Houthi group, which is internationally designated as a terrorist organization.
In a statement, seen by Barran Press, MASAM detailed that the operation involved the dismantling and detonation of "13 anti-tank mines, 28 assorted shells, two anti-personnel mines, 129 assorted fuses, 596 assorted bullets, three explosive devices, and one hand grenade."
Since the beginning of June, the Saudi project has reported dismantling "2,037 mines and unexploded ordnance in both Abyan and Bab el-Mandeb."
The statement quoted the leader of Team 19, Engineer Khaled Dawoud, as saying that the mines were discovered during a security operation along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait coastline. The operation was initiated after a fisherman reported finding a suspicious object on the coast and following previous explosions in the area.
Engineer Dawoud accused the Houthi group of planting mines "densely" along the coasts and mountains of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, using "random" methods.
He stated that "in recent months, numerous fishermen have been injured by mine explosions while fishing at sea."
He added that these mines have also led to "the deaths of many marine animals, such as turtles, along the strait's coast, as they emerge from the sea to lay their eggs in the sand."
MASAM's statement highlighted that the mines planted along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait coastline threaten "the lives of fishermen and marine animals, and hinder maritime navigation in one of the world's most important waterways."
The statement emphasized that MASAM continues its "persistent efforts to clear Yemeni lands of mines and explosive devices planted randomly by Houthi militias, without any regard for civilian lives."
According to the project's director general, Osama al-Qaseebi, since its launch in late June 2018, MASAM's field teams have cleared "446,112 mines, unexploded ordnance, and explosive devices, and successfully cleared 57,115,259 square meters of Yemeni land that was contaminated with mines, ordnance, and explosive devices," according to MASAM's media office.