Project Masam has cleared 602,330 landmines and other explosive threats across Yemen since operations began in 2018, according to the latest figures covering activities up to 13 November 2026.
Since the conflict escalated in 2014, large areas of Yemen have been contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war, particularly in formerly contested and strategically significant regions. Earlier estimates suggested that between one and two million mines had been laid nationwide by the Houthis, but those figures predate the latest escalation and are increasingly likely to understate the true scale of contamination given recent reports and visual evidence of fresh Houthi mine-laying in Taiz Governorate and along the Red Sea Coast. Project Masam has documented newly laid anti-tank mine belts, IEDs and renewed contamination in areas its teams had previously worked to clear.
The cumulative total now includes 7,876 anti-personnel mines, 153,553 anti-tank mines, 432,176 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and 8,725 improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Teams have also cleared 87,218,738 square metres of land since the project began.
During the latest reporting week, from 7 to 13 November, Project Masam teams removed 1,289 explosive threats, comprising 18 anti-personnel mines, 123 anti-tank mines, 1,143 items of UXO and five IEDs. Teams also cleared 254,630 square metres of land during the week.
The figures come amid renewed concern over explosive contamination as frontlines shift. Project Masam has recently documented fresh Houthi-laid anti-tank mine belts, IEDs and renewed contamination in parts of Taiz Governorate and along the Red Sea Coast, including areas previously subjected to humanitarian clearance.
Operations are continuing despite significant security and movement restrictions. Project Masam teams remain focused on humanitarian Mine Action and reducing the threat posed by explosive ordnance to civilians, adapting deployments as required by the prevailing security environment.
Special Tasks Team 1 continues to provide emergency-response coverage across Aden, Al Dhale, Abyan and Lahj. Special Tasks Team 2 retains responsibility for emergency response in Taiz and along the western coast, although access to Houthi-controlled areas remains restricted by the security situation.
In Midi, Hajjah, clearance continued across multiple locations east, west, south-west and south-east of the town, including a new site at Al-Naseem farm, the area around the Magistrate’s Court and land north of Water Well Alpha. Community Liaison teams also continued non-technical survey and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education in villages south-east of Midi, while mechanical clearance remained suspended because of the current security situation.
Project Masam teams continue to prioritise newly reported contamination, emergency tasks and access to civilian areas wherever security conditions allow, while maintaining established technical and safety standards.
