Saudi project dismantles more than 7000 mines in Yemen in 1 week
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) dismantled 7،039 mines during the second week of October as part of its Project Masam.
The mines، planted by Yemen’s Houthi militia، included ‘4 anti-personnel mines، 224 anti-tank mines، 6،787 unexploded ordnance and 24 explosive devices’، state agency SPA reported.
Since its inception، KSRelief’s Project Masam helped dismantle a total of 368،351 mines planted by Houthis.
Yemen is among the top beneficiaries of KSrelief assistance. The center has implemented 724 projects in Yemen، costing more than $4.1 billion.
Worldwide، KSrelief has implemented 2،086 projects worth almost $6 billion in 86 countries. The initiatives have been carried out in cooperation with 175 local، regional and international partners since the inception of the center in May 2015.
Yemen has been mired in a war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces، including the capital Sanaa، in 2014.
Saudi Arabia has been leading a military Arab coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the former government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthis forced him into exile.
Heavy clashes between Houthi rebel troops and Yemen’s pro-government forces have killed at least 8 people، a security official confirmed Friday. The fresh round of violence comes amid heightened tensions following last week’s failure to extend a cease-fire between the warring sides.
The official said exchanges of fire broke out late Thursday night in the contested western area of Yafa، killing four troops from either side and injuring five others. Local witnesses said both Houthi troops and forces under the Southern Transitional Council، which is backed by the United Arab Emirates and is a major pillar of the Saudi coalition fighting in Yemen، deployed machine guns and mortars during the clashes.
Yemen’s conflict began in 2014 when Iranian-backed Houthi forces seized the capital of Sanaa. In response، a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
The failure to extend the nationwide truce last Sunday has threatened to reignite the bloody war after a six-month cessation in frontline fighting. The Houthis blamed the dead-ended negotiations on the U.N.، which has facilitated the cease-fire talks، while the U.S. envoy to Yemen accused the rebel group of derailing the talks through last-minute demands.
As Sunday’s deadline for a renewed agreement passed، both sides reportedly deployed reinforcements to the frontline cities of Marib and Taiz and exchanged gunfire in the western governorate of Al Dhalea. Neither of these reports post-cease-fire could be immediately confirmed by The Associated Press.
Houthi forces and the Southern Transitional Council sides have both blamed each other for sparking Thursday’s violence، officials said. Both the officials and the witnesses spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
The U.N.-backed truce took effect in April and had originally established the partial opening of the capital’s airport and the Red Sea port of Hodeida، as well as the lifting of the Houthi blockade on the country’s third-largest city، Taiz. However، disagreements over the opening and control of Taiz’s key entry roads meant the city has remained under a Houthi-imposed siege.
The Yemeni war has killed in excess of 150،000 people according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. The fighting has turned Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises، pushing the Middle East’s poorest nation into near famine.