Anti-personnel landmines, which production, stockpiling and use of are banned by international law, violate\u00a0people\u2019s fundamental rights to life<\/a>, liberty and security. Tragically, civilians are the first\u00a0victims of anti-personnel landmine<\/a>\u00a0explosions, and landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are now the\u00a0major cause of civilian casualties<\/a>\u00a0in the war-torn country.<\/p>\n \n The Houthis are reported to have planted one to two million landmines across vital areas of Yemen. (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Stockpiling of weapons<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the conflict, many villages and communities have lost the livelihood they depended on for the day-to-day existence. Farms became unsafe to produce crops and many people did not have employment,\u201d Al-Samsom, whose team made up of Yemeni deminers clears EWR in the mine-infested coastal Dhubab district of Taiz in south-western Yemen, explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Yemeni people suffered financially because of economic deterioration across the country. As a result of this, many believed that explosive ordnance and materials were suitable to sell on the black market to receive money to support their families, and were mainly sold as scrap metal to scrap dealers at low cost.\u201d<\/p>\n While Project Masam has been aware that unknowing civilians have been stockpiling landmines and other ERW that are used as currency for years (in Marib\u2019s gun market,\u00a0a landmine sells for an average YER 5,000<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the equivalent of GBP 14.6, or USD 19.9), the scale of the issue is only just recently coming to light.<\/p>\n \n Explosive items handed over by civilians to Project Masam demining teams (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Landmines \u2018worth the money\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The leader of demining Team 18, Ahmed Al-Radfani , who operates in Qa\u2019atabah in the Al-Dhale region (a historic fault line between former North and South Yemen, and now between Houthis and the internationally-recognised government), said he is aware civilians were hoarding landmines for several reasons including, \u201cselling them to the Houthis, and selling them in the markets\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren\u2019t sure [about what the weapons were], but you knew it was worth the money,\u201d Al-Radfani explained.<\/p>\n According to local reports, verified by Project Masam, civilians living in embattled zones, such as\u00a0Yemen\u2019s vital Red Sea coast or border gateways to the south<\/a>, hoarding landmines and other remnants of war started to do so after the Houthi withdrew from villages and cities, beaches and mountainous areas in 2017.<\/p>\n Project Masam found that landmines were discovered in Houthis weapon caches that were left abandoned after the militias fled battle sites, others were left in the open or disturbed by floods, while further mines were reported to the Resistance or simply taken home by civilians.<\/p>\n \u201cMost civilians have stored them since 2017 and still keep these mines to this day in order to sell or use them for various purposes, including extracting the TNT for the purpose of blowing up and deepening their water wells, blasting stones for the purpose of construction or building roads leading to homes, and using them for purposes that disturb the security of the homeland,\u201d Al-Radfani added.<\/p>\n Abdullah Mohamed Sha\u2019fil Qutaibi, leader of demining Team 21, meanwhile, added another explanation: \u201cWhile civilians use explosive materials to blow up rocks, some also use chemicals found in local [-ly manufactured] landmines to fertilise farms; this is what we know.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Explosive items handed over by civilians to Project Masam demining teams (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Young children among landmines<\/strong><\/p>\n When asked, the deminers who have visited households across western and southern Yemen to retrieve stockpiled Houthi landmines explained the explosive devices were found hoarded \u201cin kitchens, sleeping places, and in courtyards\u201d, which \u201cincreases the risk of their unintentional use\u201d.<\/p>\n In other instances, landmines are stored inside uninhabited rooms inside houses, or in damaged and abandoned buildings. Some are also kept in areas where the sheep and goats are kept, while other civilians bury the items outside their homes under trees and bushes.<\/p>\n In some cases, Qutaibi, whose team carries out its landmine clearance operations in mine-affected Mocha in the disputed and divided Taiz province, added some landmines found in homesteads showed that detonators had been tampered with \u201cbecause civilians have an idea about removing detonators from mines\u201d.<\/p>\n Many families had children under the age of five living in the house, Al-Radfani explained, adding that civilians collecting landmines in their homes were \u201cin adulthood, between 20 and 50 although some were older individuals, married and responsible for their homes\u201d.<\/p>\n Shockingly, Al-Radfani, who visited a home where the youngest child was 3, highlighted: \u201cDuring the height of the war, this indicated a lack of awareness; [now civilians] understand the dangers, but they are other purposes in it [stockpiling landmines], despite their understanding of the dangers\u201d.<\/p>\n In some instances, the leader of Team 23, Abdo Ibrahim Mohamed Farea, whose team also works in Dhubab, said the stockpiling of landmines in civilian homes had only come to light \u201cbecause of some disasters [that occurred] due to bad handling or tampering with these munitions\u201d.<\/p>\n \n Explosive itens handed over by civilians to Project Masam demining teams (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Effective awareness campaigns<\/strong><\/p>\n Back to Al-Samsom\u2019s latest handover anecdote, and it is now clear why the father, who we will not identify for security reasons, decided to give up his spoils of war.<\/p>\n In a relatively new phenomenon, awareness campaigns have started to turn the tide in Yemen,\u00a0Project Masam demining experts<\/a>\u00a0are agreeing.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the beginning of the conflict, people were afraid to report landmines. For fear of punishments or social stigma, or for the purpose of keeping them and adorning them in houses, or for the\u00a0purpose of selling and trading them<\/a>\u00a0in, civilians did not realise that they were perpetuating the ongoing and deadly danger that was threatening their lives and that of their families,\u201d Aref Al-Qahtani, leader of demining Team 22, explained.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as understanding about the dangers of landmines and munitions has increased, they have become more aware. And that includes the importance of reporting landmines in your own home.\u201d<\/p>\n Through direct and indirect awareness campaigns, known in the mine action sector as Explosive Ordnance Risk Education, or EORE, carried out during field visits to schools, mosques, during sporting events or market days, and across residential communities or with posters and leaflets, Project Masam\u2019s deminers are able to maintain a good communication with local communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis includes all the information necessary about the safe behaviours to be followed when encountering suspicious objects and it extends to the stockpiling of landmines in affected communities as a result of ignorance, economic or social need, or because of the disease of curiosity and exploration,\u201d Qahtani added.<\/p>\n \u201cThese outreach activities carried out by our teams have helped break down psychological barriers and fear of reporting, as people started to understand the risks their families and communities may be exposed to when these elements are ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Team 22 and Team 23 carry out indirect and direct EORE in civilian areas in Dhubab and Al-Qahirah respectively in Yemen\u2019s Taiz region (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Yemeni society mentality change<\/strong><\/p>\n Since late 2023, the demining teams have recorded an increase in the reporting of hoarded mines, proof they say of the tangible results of EORE as Yemeni society\u2019s understanding of the dangers of these weapons slowly shifts.<\/p>\n Indeed, before 2014, the majority of Yemenis had not encountered landmines before and were unfamiliar with this new threat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe majority believed that keeping these munitions would benefit them but as the days went by, it became clear that the retention of such devices was a disaster in itself,\u201d Farea, from Team 23, pointed out.<\/p>\n In one house, Team 21, led by Qutaibi, discovered \u201cchildren of all ages, about four landmines and a lot of shells\u201d, for example.<\/p>\n This mentality transformation is helping deminers working for mine action programmes across Yemen in their mission to clear and remove mines and reduce the number of casualties among civilians,\u00a0especially women and children<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking from Ad Dhale, Al-Radfani added: \u201cCivilians are responding well to our team after we raised their awareness; now knowing the dangers, they are handing over a number of mines and explosive ordnance that they had, are informing our team of their whereabouts and the places found by the civilians, as well as informing our team of any suspicious object.\u201d<\/p>\n This is an ongoing mission for deminers, as Al-Radfani said \u201cindigenous peoples and those displaced from the war still need constant awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Civilians in western Yemen at the end of an EORE session carried out by Project Masam (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Involving professionals<\/strong><\/p>\n Project Masam\u2019s awareness campaign also targeted scrap shop owners, who are encouraged to refrain from buying ERW from civilians.<\/p>\n In Taiz, for instance, Project Masam along with the Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre (YEMAC) management wrote an official letter which was delivered to the director of security of Mawza\u2019 Directorate asking him to inform scrap shops to refuse ammunition of any shape or form.<\/p>\n Awareness has also been instrumental in educating the wider community about the dangers of UXO and mines.<\/p>\n This is especially true of professionals such as contractors who implement service and development projects in the field of education, health, roads, agriculture, or water projects, across liberated areas of Yemen, and owners of heavy equipment, whether tillers, tractors or transport vehicles, who are keen to reduce risk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe community interaction was good, and the community is still cooperative,\u201d Farea underlined.<\/p>\n \n Explosive weapons handed over by a scrap dealer by Project Masam (Credit: Project Masam)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> Part of social change movement<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2023, civilians handed over 82 various explosive items. This number climbed to 184 by mid-2024.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel that I have done humanitarian work to help civilians and we have spared them many accidents,\u201d Qutaibi said, looking back at his team\u2019s work. \u201cIt proves that the community has gained the trust of Project Masam teams because we want to help them to live in a safe environment and to reduce the pain and suffering cause by accidents\u201d.<\/p>\n This feeling is echoed by Al-Qahtani, whose demining Team 22 operates in Al-Qahirah in Taiz: \u201cI feel very proud to see the results of the awareness campaigns of Project Masam. Each person reporting a mine is a step towards protecting the community and reducing the risk of explosive ordnance.\u201d<\/p>\n EORE has had a sizeable impact on people\u2019s understanding of the dangers of explosive remnants of war, but the challenges facing civilian communities, professionals in all sectors of the economy, and mine action personnel will continue until every single landmine, IED and EXO has been cleared in Yemen.<\/p>\n In 2024, Project Masam reported that the\u00a0Houthis had planted new landmines<\/a>\u00a0along the flashpoint Red Sea coast in what was believed to be preparation for potential future offensives.<\/p>\n \n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/v2\/resize:fit:640\/format:webp\/1*g882sua9JgPQwtbYrBBCpg.jpeg)
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