Yemeni PM Lauds Achievements of Saudi Humanitarian Demining Mission

Landmines extracted by the Masam demining teams in Yemen. (Masam Project)
Landmines extracted by the Masam demining teams in Yemen. (Masam Project)
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Yemeni PM Lauds Achievements of Saudi Humanitarian Demining Mission

Landmines extracted by the Masam demining teams in Yemen. (Masam Project)
Landmines extracted by the Masam demining teams in Yemen. (Masam Project)

Yemeni Prime Minister Moeen Abdul Malik lauded tremendous efforts exerted by the Saudi demining initiative in Yemen, Masam.

He made his remarks after receiving Masam Project chief Ousama al-Gosaibi and the Director of the Yemeni National Mine Action Program, Brig. Gen. Amin Al-Aqili in the interim Yemeni capital, Aden.

“The head of Yemeni government commended sacrifices put forth by staffers of the Masam project, which is backed by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief),” the official Saba news agency reported.

He thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts in alleviating the suffering invited upon Yemenis by Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Saudi Arabia's support of Yemen and its people, its leadership of the Arab coalition, which is backing the legitimacy and President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and rescuing of Yemenis from the Houthis and Iran’s regional expansionist project will forever be etched in history and remembered with gratitude by Yemenis, the PM said.

He also conveyed his condolences to the family members of Masam demining staffers who died on duty in the Mocha region.

Landmines and explosive devices have been planted by Houthis throughout civilian areas as they retreat from advancing legitimate forces.

“The government will spare no effort to provide all support to the national mine action program,” Abdul Malik added, blasting Houthi terrorists for cultivating a “culture of death and destruction.”

Gosaibi, for his part, highlighted the large number of mines and explosives that have been defused by the team and which were left behind by militants in civilian neighborhoods, public spaces, on sea shores and schools across the war-torn country.

He also briefed the gatherers of the risks and challenges facing the demining staffers on the field.

Masam includes 32 demining teams deployed in government-controlled areas. It announced that its engineering teams, during the last week of April, extracted more than 2,000 mines.

Since it first started operating in Yemen, Masam has succeeded in removing 63,719 mines.



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.