Specialized teams working under the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Masam demining project in Yemen announced defusing 2,482 landmines planted by Houthi coup militias.
This brings up the number of mines cleared by the initiative to 5,260 since the start of October.
“Project teams cleared 2,482 mines and undetonated devices during the third week of October, bringing the total clearance since the beginning of the month until the Oct 18th to 5260,” Masam project director Ossama al-Qasabi said.
Colonel Amer al-Bahri, commander of the second Masam demining team working in Yemen’s Al-Jawf province, said that since mission launch in mid-2018, more than 15 mined areas have been from over 2,500 mines and shells.
He confirmed that his team, undeterred by dangers it is exposed to, will continue its mission to provide security to civilians from the danger of mines.
Speaking on the difficulties faced on mission, Bahri noted: “Desert areas are one of the most difficult places to go as far as demining in open areas.”
He pointed out that Houthis have planted mines indiscriminately and within vast areas where wind and sand dunes made it difficult to detect and find landmines.
Bahri, however, noted that the Saudi-sponsored initiative has equipped his team with state-of-the-art technologies that help in achieving the mission.
