Across Yemen, landmines and explosive remnants of war continue to drive displacement while simultaneously placing displaced families at even greater risk. Contamination affects roads, farmland, villages, water sources, grazing areas, and residential communities, forcing civilians to flee unsafe areas while limiting their ability to return home safely.<\/p>\n
Years after the escalation of the conflict in 2014, Yemen remains one of the countries most heavily contaminated by explosive hazards. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), more than 4.8 million people<\/a> remain internally displaced across Yemen, many displaced multiple times during the conflict. Millions more continue living in areas affected by explosive contamination.<\/p>\n Alongside Project Masam, which has been operating in Yemen since mid-2018, humanitarian organisations are also continuing to warn that landmines and unexploded ordnance remain major obstacles preventing recovery and safe civilian movement. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has recently reiterated that contamination continues to obstruct safe returns<\/a>, livelihoods, farming activity, and humanitarian access across Yemen.<\/p>\n For many Yemeni families, displacement itself increases exposure to landmine risks: families fleeing front line areas often move through unfamiliar terrain or settle in remote areas lacking infrastructure, information, or safe access routes, and displaced civilians frequently depend on grazing land, water collection routes, and agricultural areas that may already be contaminated by landmines or unexploded ordnance.<\/p>\n In the Al-Suwayda camp for internally displaced persons in northern Marib, for example, Khaled Sabr\u2019s family experienced this danger firsthand after a migrated landmine killed children<\/a> near the camp. According to the family, the children found a strange object on the ground while playing near the camp and attempted to burn it, causing the device to explode.<\/p>\n The grieving mother told Project Masam: “Our children went out as usual to play next to our camp, but less than an hour later, we heard the sound of a terrifying explosion. We ran with great fear and found our children killed.”<\/p>\n Ali Khaled Sabr, the uncle of the victims, explained how the family\u2019s displacement had failed to protect them from contamination. He explained: “We left our homes for fear of war and landmines, and yet we were followed by mines even in our places of refuge through the floods,\u201d he said. \u201cNow our children have been killed, while others are seriously injured because of these deadly explosives.”<\/p>\n One of the largest displacement camps in Marib (where IDPs make up more than\u00a093 per cent of the city\u2019s population <\/a>according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)-run Al-Suwayda camp hosts approximately 2,000 displaced families.<\/p>\n Humanitarian organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have repeatedly warned that displaced populations and returnees remain among the groups most vulnerable to landmine accidents because they are often unfamiliar with contaminated areas or forced to use unsafe routes for survival.<\/p>\n For many displaced families, the dangers do not end when they return home.\u00a0In Hays District in Al Hudaydah Governorate, where Project Masam’s demining teams are currently operating, civilians displaced by conflict returned to their villages after liberation only to find homes, roads, and farmland contaminated with landmines.<\/p>\n Ahmed Ali Hassan Zuhair, a civilian from Hays District, described the situation to Project Masam after returning home following more than four years of displacement<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We have been displaced for more than four years, and now, after the region was liberated, we came to our village and found it all planted with mines, in farms, houses and roads,” he said. “The farms, roads and houses are all planted with mines, and wherever you go you find mines.”<\/p>\n Following reports from villagers regarding suspected contamination, Project Masam dispatched demining teams to conduct survey and clearance operations.<\/p>\n “We thank Project Masam teams for their efforts in clearing mines. They are still clearing mines, as our village is full of mines,” Zuhair added.<\/p>\n Displacement also leaves many families economically vulnerable, forcing civilians into contaminated environments in order to survive. After spending a long period unable to access his farmland because of contamination, an older displaced Yemeni farmer was finally able to return to his land after Project Masam teams carried out clearance operations following reports from local residents.<\/p>\n The older man, who chose not to be identified, explained how landmines had prevented him from approaching or cultivating his farm. He also described the emotional toll of displacement<\/a> and contamination on his livelihood.<\/p>\n “How sad and heartbroken was I when the rain fell heavily while I was unable to approach my farm, which had been heavily laid with landmines by the Houthi militias,” he told Project Masam, before he was able to “start working on it [the land]” following successful clearance operations.<\/p>\n Agriculture remains the primary source of income for many displaced and conflict affected families across Yemen. Tragically, when farmland becomes contaminated, families lose livelihoods, food sources, and economic stability.<\/p>\n Humanitarian mine clearance remains essential to helping displaced civilians return home safely. Project Masam witnessed this in the Hassi Bin Alwan area of Mocha in Taiz Governorate, where demining Team 21 carried out clearance operations in areas where “hundreds of mines<\/a> [had been] planted extensively and randomly”, according to Team Leader Abdullah Shafiel.<\/p>\n “When we moved to this area, we found all roads were closed. Water sources were closed and agricultural areas and dwellings were empty,” Shafiel told Project Masam from the Hassi Bin Alwan area.<\/p>\n Project Masam\u2019s operations focused on reopening civilian access and supporting displaced communities attempting to return home.<\/p>\n “The residential areas are almost all secured, but in the pastures there are still landmines scattered and planted in a random way, but we are working hard and hopefully they will be completely cleared,” he explained, adding that during these operations, Project Masam teams recovered 13 anti-tank mines, some located close to former homes and settlements.<\/p>\n In another operation in Al-Rama area in Al-Qatabiyah, Yekhtal, in Mokha Directorate, displaced civilians were able to return home<\/a> after Project Masam Team 17 cleared 10 anti-tank mines that had contributed to civilian displacement.<\/p>\n Ahmed Qaeed Rahim, a farmer injured during a landmine incident in the area, described the response by Project Masam teams: “We asked Project Masam team to help us, and indeed they helped us and saved us from 10 mines”.<\/p>\n Team 17 leader Hassan Al-Ghouri, whose team had responded to the report, explained how clearance operations helped reopen civilian movement routes.<\/p>\n “The roads have now been opened for citizens, leading to their homes and farms,\u201d he said. \u201cWith the arrival of Project Masam teams, life began to return to normal,” he explained.<\/p>\n Children remain among the groups most vulnerable to explosive accidents in Yemen, particularly within displaced and rural communities where open land is often used for grazing, collecting firewood, or recreation. Additionally, Project Masam has documented the impact of contamination on their education.<\/p>\n In Hajjah Governorate, Abdullah Hirani, Deputy Director of the Education Office in Hajjah, stated that more than 14 schools<\/a> had been damaged or destroyed by landmines planted by the Houthis. Fear of travelling along contaminated roads displaced thousands of students and teachers and disrupted education for years.<\/p>\n In Taiz, Ibrahim Aqeel School became another example of how contamination affects civilian infrastructure: classrooms previously used for education were turned into storage sites for landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during the occupation of parts of the city by Houthi militias. Located in the At Ta’iziyah District, near the University of Taiz, the surrounding land, roads, tracks, and houses were left contaminated too.<\/p>\n Thirteen year old Mariam Fouad told Project Masam how she had lost two years of education<\/a> because the contamination around her school made the area unsafe, and her parents were too afraid to send her to school during and after the fighting.<\/p>\nDisplacement into danger<\/h3>\n
Returning home to contamination<\/h3>\n
Landmines and livelihoods<\/h3>\n
Safe return through humanitarian clearance<\/h3>\n
Children remain among the most vulnerable<\/h3>\n