Saudi clears 1,045 Houthi rebel mines in Yemen

The Saudi Arabian government's "Saudi Project to Demine Yemen" (Masam) announced on 22 January (local time) that the group dismantled or removed 1,045 landmines in the civil war-torn Yemen during the third week of January.

According to Xinhua News Agency, citing Saudi domestic media, the group said at a press conference that 15 anti-personnel mines, 131 anti-tank mines and 896 unexploded shells have been fired so far. It said three other homebrewed explosive devices were found and removed in the civil war-torn provinces of D'Alea, Shabwa, Hodeida and Tides.

The Saudi government, which launched in Yemen in 2018, has removed a total of 383,193 Houthi rebel mines and explosives.

Despite these constant removals, landmines and homemade explosive devices planted by the Houthi rebels continue to pose a major threat to Yemeni civilians.

According to Yemen's pro-government demining experts, more than 1 million landmines have been planted in the region since late 2014, when rebels drove out Yemeni government forces from several northern provinces and captured the capital, Sanaa. [Newsis]