Riyadh: The UN special envoy’s military adviser to Yemen, Antony Hayward, praised the work carried out by Saudi aid agency KSrelief’s Project Masam to clear landmines in Yemen.
During his visit to the agency’s headquarters in Marib, he said that the project works to protect the lives of civilians and secure large areas of Yemeni territory despite the challenges posed by landmines.
The UN official emphasized the importance of continuing such humanitarian projects to achieve stability in Yemen and protect civilians, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Last week, meanwhile, members of Project Masam removed 840 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen, including anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines and unexploded ordnance, according to a recent report.
Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative’s managing director, said 470,416 mines had been cleared since its inception in 2018.
The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
The initiative trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
Teams are responsible for clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate safe movement for civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
About 5 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the start of the conflict in Yemen, many of them displaced by the presence of landmines.
