RIYADH: The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance in Yemen dismantled 1,045 Houthi mines in the third week of January.
Overseen by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, teams destroyed 15 anti-personnel mines, 131 anti-tank mines, 896 unexploded ordinances and three explosive devices, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The project, also known as Masam, is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the orders of King Salman to help the Yemeni people.
Masam teams clear routes for much-needed humanitarian aid aimed at supporting the country’s citizens.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
A total of 383,139 mines have been cleared since the start of the project.
More than 1.2 million mines have been planted by the Houthi militia, claiming the lives of hundreds of civilians.
The Saudi project trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also provides support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
In June 2022, the project’s contract was extended for another year at a cost of $33.29 million.
Meanwhile, KSrelief recently handed over 50 housing units to people affected by torrential rain and flooding in Yemen’s Al-Mahrah Governorate.
The project, implemented by Saudi Arabia through KSrelief, aims to alleviate the suffering of displaced families in various Yemeni regions.
The center distributed 54 tons of food baskets in Marib Governorate, benefiting thousands of people.
It comes as part of KSrelief’s 2022 project to support food security in Yemen, with a goal to distribute more than 192,000 food baskets weighing over 20,000 tons to needy and affected families across 15 Yemeni governorates.
