JEDDAH: The Saudi Project for Landmines Clearance in Yemen launched by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), removed 64 anti-personnel mines, 1,430 anti-vehicle mines, 85 explosive devices and 955 unexploded ordnance during the second week of December.
The mines were planted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen. In the last week of November, members of the project managed to dismantle some 1,462 land mines to reach 6,677 mines planted by the Houthi militia in schools and residential areas throughout the month.
The militia has attempted to hide the land mines via several methods, which has led to the death or severe injury of children, women and elderly men.
Since the beginning of the project, 26,609 mines have been removed.
Food aid
KSRelief dispatched 6,300 cartons of dates to Marib governorate on Saturday and also distributed 1,836 cartons of dates and 700 food baskets among the needy people in Lahj governorate.
Medical relief
KSRelief has provided treatment for more than 21,000 injured Yemenis, both inside and outside Yemen.
A total of 6,452 Yemenis received treatment in private sector hospitals in Yemen, while 1,000 received treatment in Yemeni medical centers specializing in eye injuries.
In addition, 12,795 cases were transferred to Saudi Arabia, 534 to Jordan, 280 to Sudan and one to India.
The injured Yemenis expressed appreciation to KSRelief for its efforts to treat them.
KSRelief provides health services to all Yemeni people in coordination with the Yemeni Higher Relief Committee represented by the Yemeni Ministry of Health and Population, and local and international partners.
Child soldiers
KSRelief aims to help at least 2,000 former child soldiers, along with children who have lost a parent or were seriously injured by land mines, to reintegrate successfully into their families, schools and communities.
Operations
Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi, the assistant general supervisor of KSRelief, has highlighted Saudi Arabia’s pioneering role in humanitarian and relief operations.
He was speaking at a meeting in New York of the Senior Donors Group to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, during which a number of humanitarian crises and OCHA’s field operations were reviewed.
KSRelief said more than 14,000 Syrians in the north of the war-torn country had benefited from projects to supply direct support, heating fuel and cooking gas during the first half of December. Through such projects, funded by the Kingdom, the center seeks to help Syrians recover from the war.
In Yemen, KSRelief distributed 37 tons of food to about 3,000 displaced people in the villages of Al-Jouf governorate on Thursday. The center distributed a further 102,170 food baskets to people in nine other Yemeni governorates. To date, Saudi Arabia has implemented 302 humanitarian projects to help the Yemeni people.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the supervisor general of KSRelief, on Wednesday chaired a meeting during which a GCC Relief and Humanitarian Aid Coordination Office for Yemen was launched to make it easier for Gulf nations to coordinate relief projects in the country.
