JEDDAH: The Masam Project for landmine clearance in Yemen cleared 1,681 mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance in the coastal city of Mukalla, Masam said in a statement.
The operation was carried out by Masam’s emergency teams in coordination with the Executive Mine Action Center’s Mukalla branch.
According to the project’s media office, the destroyed items included nine M79 guided rockets and five 122 mm artillery shells. Other items destroyed included 18 85 mm shells, 187 30 mm shells, 16 81 mm mortar rounds, 98 60 mm mortar rounds, 86 40 mm shells, 12 anti-personnel mines, 12 82 mm mortar rounds, 262 23 mm shells, three B-10 rounds, 28 RPG rounds and 17 hand grenades.
The teams also dismantled 30 anti-tank mine fuses, 107 Katyusha rocket fuses and 791 rounds of 12.7 mm ammunition.
The center said that the operation was the fifth of its kind carried out in Mukalla, in Hadramout governorate, since mid-January.
It added that Masam’s efforts continue throughout Ramadan to clear Yemeni territory of mines, improvised explosive devices and other remnants of war.
With the latest operation, the total number of mines, explosive devices and unexploded ordnance destroyed by Masam teams in Mukalla since Jan. 17 has risen to 11,487, the statement said.
Masam removed 6,682 mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices between Feb. 1 and Feb. 20, the project said.
The total included 5,278 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 1,325 anti-tank mines, 38 anti-personnel mines and 41 improvised explosive devices.
During the third week of February alone, Masam teams cleared 2,484 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 149 anti-tank mines, 17 anti-personnel mines and 26 improvised explosive devices.
The project said that its teams cleared 729,273 sq. meters of land across Yemen up to Feb. 20.
Since operations began in Midi district, Masam teams have removed 8,252 mines, unexploded ordnance and explosive devices, including 2,676 mines and unexploded ordanance cleared during recent operations, the statement added.
