Barran Press
The Saudi Project MASAM for clearing Yemeni landmines announced on Sunday, August 25th, that its teams have removed 771 unexploded ordnance and 59 anti-tank mines in the past week.
In a statement reviewed by Barran Press, the center explained that field teams had removed 3,045 unexploded ordnance and 245 anti-tank mines since the beginning of August until the 23rd.
The statement added that teams removed 837 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices during the third week of August, bringing the total removed since the beginning of the month to 3,366.
In a separate announcement, MASAM declared that it had removed 456,664 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices since its inception until August 23rd.
MASAM Director-General Osama Al-Qusaybi stated in a press release received by Barran Press that field teams have removed 456,664 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices since the project's launch.
He added that teams have removed 296,954 unexploded ordnance and 8,120 improvised explosive devices since the project's inception.
Al-Qusaybi also mentioned that teams have removed 145,016 anti-tank mines and 6,574 anti-personnel mines to date.
According to the statement, MASAM's engineering teams have cleared 58,976,479 square meters of Yemeni land contaminated with mines, ordnance, and improvised explosive devices since the project's launch in late June 2018.
UN reports indicate that the Houthis, internationally designated as a terrorist group, have planted approximately two million mines in various areas they have controlled, resulting in the deaths and injuries of over 20,000 civilians, most of whom are women and children. rights reports accuse the Houthis of "turning Yemen into the largest minefield ever, after planting over two million mines." Human rights organizations repeatedly call on the Houthis to provide maps of the landmines they have planted to organizations working in mine clearance.