Under the supervision of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, the project’s special teams destroyed 915 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 118 anti-tank mines, 12 improvised explosive devices and one anti-personnel mine
Project Masam, a Saudi initiative to clear landmines from Yemen, dismantled 1,046 mines planted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in the second week of January.
Under the supervision of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, the project’s special teams destroyed 915 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 118 anti-tank mines, 12 improvised explosive devices and one anti-personnel mine.
The explosives, planted indiscriminately by the Houthis across Yemen, posed a significant threat to the lives of innocent people, including children, women and the elderly.
The Masam project is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the orders of King Salman to help the Yemeni people by paving the way for humanitarian aid to reach the country’s citizens.
Demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
According to Ousama Al-Gosaibi, CEO of the project, a total of 428,580 mines have been removed since the initiative began in 2018.
These include 271,376 unexploded ordnance, 142,801 anti-tank mines, 7,947 improvised explosive devices and 6,447 anti-personnel mines.
The project trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by bombs.
It is estimated that up to 5 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the start of the conflict in Yemen, many of them displaced by the presence of landmines on their territory.
Masam teams are tasked with clearing areas such as villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian goods and services.
The project contract was extended for another year in June 2023 at a cost of $33.29 million.
