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Yemen

One million mines planted by coup perpetrators in Yemen in three years: Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance

RIYADH, 4th August, 2018 (WAM) -- One million mines have been planted by Houthi militia's coup perpetrators in Yemen in three years, killing 1194 civilians, 216 of whom are children, according to a senior official at the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM), which aims to make Yemen landmine-free to protect civilians and safeguard the delivery of urgent humanitarian supplies.

Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Osama Al Qasibi, MASAM Director-General, said, "MASAM teams have managed to detect and remove 919 mines and explosive charges in Taiz, Red Sea Coast, Beihan, Osailan, Saada, Shabwa and Marib, only during the two weeks that followed the launch of the project."

"Most of these are internationally banned anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines that originate from difference sources in addition to 288 locally devised or Iranian made mines," he added.

The coup perpetrators are developing anti-vehicle mines and turn them to anti-personnel explosives as part of their sectarian scheme to intimidate and terrorise the civilians and feed their expansionist plans, he indicated.

MASAM, launched by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) on June 25th 2018, tackles the plague of landmines left behind by Iran-backed Al Houthi militants as they retreat from battlefield losses.

Landmines constitute a major impediment to social and economic development efforts and expose citizens to potentially fatal risk for generations to come, MASAM says.

The programme also strives to help the Yemeni people to overcome the many tragedies caused by the deployment of these landmines, and to enable the country to become more independent to take responsibility in removing mines themselves. Part of the programme is to train Yemeni specialists on how to clear the land of mines.

WAM/Hatem Mohamed