Landmines and Remnants of War: The Endless Trouble in Yemen

Landmines and explosive devices continue to pose life-threatening risks to millions of civilians in several Yemeni provinces.

Every week, deaths and injuries in landmine explosions are reported. Yemeni families have lost their loved ones, causing them to lead a miserable life.

Families also lose their cattle in landmine blasts and cannot access their farms or lands, costing them the sources of their livelihoods.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned against the remnants of war in the city of Hays in Al-Hudaydah to the west of Yemen.

The ICRC said in a statement on the X platform that the city of Hays in Hodeidah faces many humanitarian challenges due to explosive remnants of war, which have affected the residents’ ability to access sources of income.

Yesterday, Sunday, the Masam Project announced that the field teams removed 1,406 mines, unexploded ordnance, and explosive devices last week, bringing the total removed during the month of May to 5,726.

The Project said its teams removed last week 1,326 unexploded ordnance and 68 anti-tank mines, bringing the number of mines removed over the past month to 5,527 unexploded ordnance and 145 anti-tank mines.

According to Project Masam, 56,636,614 square meters of Yemeni land have been cleared of landmines, ammunition, and explosive devices.

Officials in Project Masam indicate that it has removed 444,858 mines, unexploded ordnance, and explosive devices since it started in 2018. Since the war started in Yemen in 2015, the parties to the conflict have planted thousands of landmines in several provinces, including Taiz, Marib, Al-Hudaydah and Al-Dhale.

The number of landmines that have been removed over the last six months is presented in the following table: