Program Manager of the Saudi Project for Landmines Clearance in Yemen (MASAM) Ousama Al-Gosaibi revealed that over 400 specialists have been tasked with ridding Yemen of mines.
He stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that this humanitarian project aims at clearing mines throughout the country, without discriminating between one region and another.
The 40-million dollar one-year project will be implemented over five phases. It will start with the equipping and training of the personnel, preparing the specialized demining teams, sending them to the field and later relaying their expertise to Yemeni cadres. MASAM is being implemented with Saudi and global expertise, stressed Gosaibi.
Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemen has been one of the Kingdom’s top priorities for decades, he said, underlining the neighborly, religious, social and familial ties that bind the peoples of both countries.
MASAM was funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), which has been offering and continuing to offer humanitarian projects for the war-torn country, he remarked. These efforts have exceeded 1.6 billion dollars.
MASAM seeks to clear the mines that have been arbitrarily planted by the Iran-backed Houthi militias throughout Yemen, most notably in Marib, Aden, Sanaa and Taiz, Gosaibi said. It also seeks to help the Yemeni people overcome the humanitarian tragedy that has resulted from the mines.
Preliminary statistics revealed by Yemeni officials showed that the militias planted nearly one million mines throughout the country.
Gosaibi highlighted in this regard the efforts of the KSRelief-funded prosthetics center in Marib that has so far provided prosthetic limbs to over 195 mine victims, who are often women and children.
MASAM field teams have been in Marib for two months to begin their mine clearance mission. Thirty-two demining teams consisting of over 400 people are operating in Yemen.
He underlined the close cooperation between MASAM and the national Yemeni demining project, saying that each one complements the other.
The Saudi project will focus on sensitive areas that have high populations. It will tackle the provinces of Marib, Aden, Taiz and Sanaa in its first phase, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
After this phase is complete, MASAM will turn to mines planted in desert regions.
MASAM also boasts rapid intervention experts and others specialized in defusing explosives, Gosaibi said.
The Saudi project, he reiterated, does not discriminate between Yemeni regions. It launched its operations to achieve purely humanitarian goals regardless of the developments in Yemen.
