Renewed fighting in Yemen is placing civilians under mounting pressure, with displacement, hunger and reduced access to healthcare and water now compounded by the renewed threat of landmines and IEDs in areas affected by shifting frontlines.<\/p>\n
The latest escalation began in early September, with fighting intensifying in Taiz before spreading along parts of the western coast and affecting other active fronts, including Al Dhale and Marib. In several of these areas, civilians are now facing the combined effects of renewed conflict and explosive hazards laid during or after changes in territorial control. For affected communities, that can mean being displaced by fighting and then finding that roads, homes, farmland, water points or routes to healthcare are unsafe to use.<\/p>\n
United Nations (UN) agencies are now warning that Yemen\u2019s latest escalation is driving new displacement and placing further pressure on healthcare, food supplies and water access, while fresh mine-laying is adding another layer of risk in areas already affected by years of explosive contamination.<\/p>\n
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that more than 200,000 people were displaced<\/a> between 3 September and 10 October, including an estimated 110,000 children, with Taiz receiving the largest share of new displacement. By 20 October, the agency said around 120,000 people had been displaced to Taiz alone, many arriving in overcrowded communities with limited access to food and clean water.<\/p>\n The pressure on essential services is also increasing, with UNICEF warning that fighting and fuel shortages are threatening water systems serving around three million people in Taiz, including at least 1.6 million children, while the cost of trucked water has tripled since the escalation began. More than 52,000 of 168,000 children screened for malnutrition in Taiz this year were found to be acutely malnourished.<\/p>\n At the same time, the World Food Programme (WFP) says 18.3 million people across Yemen<\/a> are facing acute food insecurity, while shifting frontlines, blocked roads and insecurity have cut off life-saving assistance to around 800,000 people in affected areas.<\/p>\n Women and newborns are facing particular risks. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also warned on 16 October that escalating violence in Taiz had disrupted access to life-saving care for more than 147,600 women and girls<\/a> of childbearing age, while only five of 27 designated emergency maternal and neonatal care hospitals were partially functioning.<\/p>\n More than 13,100 pregnant women are currently unable to access maternal health services in Taiz, including around 1,500 expected to give birth within a two-week period. At least 500 are expected to require emergency obstetric and newborn care.<\/p>\n These warnings closely reflect concerns Project Masam has raised about the wider humanitarian consequences of explosive contamination in Yemen.<\/p>\n A Project Masam investigation<\/a> published in September found that landmines and other explosive hazards were already restricting access to maternity care, water, farmland and essential services. In parts of Taiz, journeys to healthcare facilities that might otherwise take around 10 minutes could take as long as eight hours because contaminated roads forced families onto difficult alternative routes. Project Masam teams have also cleared access routes serving 73 health facilities and maternity units in Taiz.<\/p>\n The latest escalation risks making those access problems considerably worse.<\/p>\n Footage reviewed by Project Masam<\/a> earlier this month showed extensive newly laid anti-tank mine belts and IEDs in parts of Taiz and along the Red Sea Coast (and around Bab al-Mandab), including areas that had previously undergone humanitarian clearance. Roads, tracks, farmland and grazing areas that had been made safer may now require fresh survey and clearance before civilians can use them again.<\/p>\n For displaced families, that can make return dangerous even after fighting has moved elsewhere. Roads, homes, farmland, water infrastructure and local services may all require reassessment before communities can safely return.<\/p>\n Project Masam\u2019s demining teams, Special Tasks Teams and Rapid Response Teams continue operating<\/a> wherever conditions allow, with clearance prioritised around roads, residential areas, farmland, water infrastructure and routes to healthcare. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) is also continuing in affected communities<\/a> to help civilians recognise suspicious items, keep their distance and report hazards safely.<\/p>\n As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, Project Masam has called for urgent survey and clearance of newly contaminated areas, alongside the disclosure of Houthi minefield maps, coordinates and other information that could help teams locate and remove explosive threats more rapidly and safely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work in an active conflict environment, and we know how difficult and dangerous this work is,\u201d Ousama Algosaibi, Project Masam\u2019s Managing Director, said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur teams are seeing communities already struggling with displacement, food insecurity and severely restricted access to healthcare, water and other essential services. To then see landmines and IEDs being used again, adding yet another threat to civilians who are already carrying such an enormous burden, is devastating and heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cThese communities can least afford another layer of danger. We are clearing what we can, where we can, but every newly contaminated area means more land to survey, more roads and communities to make safe, and more families forced to wait before they can return home or move freely.\u201d<\/p>\n Algosaibi said Project Masam would continue responding to newly reported contamination wherever security conditions allow, while calling for sustained international support, greater transparency over minefield locations and accountability for the use of explosive devices that place civilians at risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Renewed fighting in Yemen is placing civilians under mounting pressure, with displacement, hunger and reduced access to healthcare and water now compounded by the renewed threat of landmines and IEDs in areas affected by shifting frontlines. 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