RIYADH, 6 October: Members of Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam removed 1,579 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week.
The total included five anti-personnel mines, 126 anti-tank mines, 1,442 unexploded ordnances and six explosive devices, according to a recent report.
Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said a total of 465,252 mines had been cleared since its inception in 2018.
The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
Project Masam is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the orders of King Salman to help the Yemeni people, clearing routes for humanitarian aid to reach the country’s citizens.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
The initiative trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate safe movement for civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
About 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 land mines.
