Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Mossouai revealed that Yemeni Interior Ministry police and security task forces had collected data confirming that Houthi militiamen planted over a million mines across the war-torn country. 

“The threat posed by mines is big…There will be no safe living because of the number of mines laid arbitrarily by Houthi militias,” Mossouai said in a statement.

According to the official website of the Saudi demining initiative in Yemen, Masam Project, victims of randomly planted mines, especially those placed near residential complexes, town infrastructure and across farmlands are mostly civilians.

“It is difficult to find stability or development in the future because of the many land and sea sites rigged with mines.”

Moussouai, in a statement, confirmed that “Houthi-made mines, under the supervision of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah advisors, are far more detrimental than conventional mines.”

He explained that the explosives can detonate by thermal and light-weight pressure triggers.

Houthi mines are heavily present in Yemen’s west coast directorates, such as Al-Jawf and Al-Bayda and Sa'ada governorate.

More so, Mossouai blamed Iran and its proxies in Yemen, Houthis, for any harm caused by the mines which are estimated by the Masam Project to total around a million mines.

This has transformed Yemen from a country known for its aromatic coffee beans to a place ranking top in hostility and insecurity. 

Speaking about the demining initiative, Mossouai said the Masam Project was one of the most central humanitarian missions in Yemen given it fulfills an important role in extracting and defusing mines across the country.

Masam Project de-mining teams employ state of the art technologies and expertise programs to clear the country’s post-liberation hostile areas. 

Thanking Saudi Arabia for sponsoring the mission, Mossouai said Masam Project “represents a lifesaving ring to Yemenis whose present and future remain under the threat of mines.”

Meanwhile, specialized Project Masam teams, supported by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief), has successfully cleared 2,638 Houthi mines since the onset of August 2019.A.Awsat