ADEN, Yemen, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A landmine clearance project in Yemen announced on Monday that they had dismantled 866 landmines in the conflict-ridden country during the second week of April.
"The mines were planted previously by the Houthi rebels and comprised seven anti-personnel mines, 256 anti-tank mines, 550 unexploded ordnances, and 53 explosive devices," the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (Masam) said in a statement.
Masam has successfully deactivated more than 394,000 mines since it was launched in June 2018, the statement said.
In cooperation with Yemeni government demining teams, the objective of the project is to remove all landmines and explosive devices in Yemen and create a safer environment for local communities.
Various Yemeni warring factions have laid a large number of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the years-long military conflict, posing significant risks to civilians.
Earlier this month, the Yemeni government requested immediate international assistance to tackle the country's grave landmine crisis that poses a major hurdle to restoring stability.
Previous reports by humanitarian organizations said Yemen has become one of the largest landmine fields in the world since World War II.
Yemeni demining experts said that more than one million landmines have been laid since the outbreak of the civil war in late 2014 when the Houthi militia took control of several northern provinces and forced the Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa. ■
