UAE ARMED FORCES CLEAR 20,000 LANDMINES PLANTED ACROSS YEMEN
▶ Houthi militias are thought to have planted the explosive devices, which have killed and maimed thousands of civilians
The UAE Armed Forces have cleared more than 20,000 landmines – most of them Iranian – close to heavily populated areas throughout Yemen.
The Houthi rebels are believed to have planted the mines after the Saudi-led Arab Coalition sent in its troops to restore the legitimate government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
Specialists in the Armed Forces have trained 65 Yemeni volunteers to safely dig out the explosives, the state news agency Wam reported.
An expert in mine removal said 90 per cent of those dug up were Iranian-made and designed after the Russian TM-57 mine, which can destroy tanks.
“The mines are being detonated in safe areas per the latest international standards,” the expert said.
The mines planted in mountainous areas are disguised as rocks but are also concealed in sandy dunes, he said.
Health professionals estimate that thousands of civilians have been injured or killed by the explosives.
Emirates Red Crescent is covering treatment costs for those injured in the blasts, said Juma Al Mazroui, head of the Red Crescent team in Aden.
“Up to 4,000 wounded Yemenis have been treated in the UAE, Jordan, Sudan and India, some of whom have already recovered and returned home, while the rest are still being treated,” Mr Al Mazroui said.
Mohammed Abdullah, the head of a military field hospital set up by the UAE, said it had “received up to 2,500 persons injured by mines in four months, some of whom are critically wounded”.
Dr Ishraq Al Sibai, undersecretary at Yemen’s Ministry of Health, described the landmines as a “stab in the back” by Houthi militias.
Dr Al Sibai said the illegal mines had sparked a humanitarian crisis in the country and left thousands of people on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast with disabilities.
Saleh Abdu, a father to six children, lost both his legs to a landmine.
“The Houthis planted booby traps in front of our houses in a way that was impossible for the families to take any precaution,” Mr Abdu said.
“I lost consciousness after the explosive went off and later I came to know that people around me carried me to Mocha Hospital and to the military field hospital run by the UAE Armed Forces.”
Samira Mahmoud, a mother of two, had her right hand amputated after a landmine explosion destroyed her home.
“We were expelled from our homes by Houthis,” Ms Mahmoud said.
The mines have also taken their toll on the elderly, leaving some without families to support them.
“I was sitting in front of my house waiting for my grandchildren to come and take me for lunch, then I heard a massive explosion inside the house,” said Mr Abdu, 78.
He said his son ran out to rescue the rest of the family only to trigger another explosion, which killed all of his sons, their wives and children.
Khalil Ahmed, a 10-year-old Yemeni, was another victim. He was playing with his friends in Al Ruweis village in Mocha when he heard a blast. Debris sprayed across the area and tore through his body.
Khalil was rushed to the military field hospital, where he underwent a two-hour operation to remove the shrapnel. He was flown to the UAE to continue his recovery.