Alarabiya:Hadramout21
The legitimate Yemeni government accused the Houthi militias of planting more than one million mines across the country and said 2,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed as a result
“The National Mine Action Program has removed more than 228,000 mines, explosives and remnants of war since the beginning of 2018,” Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani said according to the official Yemeni news agency
Yamani said more than 1,194 people have been killed and 2,287 injured by these mines between March 2015 and March 2018, adding that most of them are civilians and that there are more than 216 children and 72 women among the victims
He noted that the Houthis have innovated new methods to use anti-vehicle mines against individuals to cause more harm
“The Houthis innovated (several) multi-purpose mines, such as radio-controlled improvised explosive devices, some of which have come directly from Iran,” Yamani said, adding that the Houthis’ approach of planting mines randomly and in such an unorganized way that’s not documented with any maps will pose a challenge to Yemen’s future
Yamani called on the international community and international organizations, particularly the UN, to help the government get rid of the mines especially those planted in the international naval passages, south of the Red Sea
Yemen’s Human Rights Minister Mohammed Askar said the number of mines planted by the Houthis until 2018 is more than 1 million
Askar said the militias have used children to plant mines in areas they’re expelled from and have intentionally booby-trapped houses, hospitals and places of worship
The number of Yemeni victims has been increasing due to the mines, which the Houthis continue to randomly plant amid their continuous defeats
On Monday, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center launched the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM), a five-year program that aims to dismantle mines in Yemen
