Saudi project clears 1,428 more mines in Yemen
The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (Masam) dismantled 1,428 mines in Yemen during the fourth week of February. They comprised 21 antipersonnel mines, 391 antitank mines, 1,015 unexploded ordnances and one explosive devices.
The mines were dismantled in various cities of Yemen including Zinjibar, Qataba, Khub Al-Shaf and Al-Khawkhah district in Hodeidah.
Masam is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia on the directive of
King Salman to help ease the suffering of the Yemeni people. It is implemented by Saudi cadres and international experts to remove mines planted by Iran-backed Houthi militias in various Yemeni regions, especially Marib, Aden, Sanaa and Taiz.
A total of 220,352 mines have been extracted since the start of the project. More than 1.1 million mines have been planted by the Houthis, claiming hundreds of civilian lives.
Masam has 32 demining teams, and aims to dismantle mines in Yemen to protect civilians and ensure that urgent humanitarian supplies are delivered safely.
It trains local demining engineers, gives them modern equipment and helps mine victims.
In 2020, Masam’s contract was extended for one year at a cost of $30 million.
Lawyers representing survivors of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 in Syria have filed a criminal complaint against Syrian officials whom they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in a rebel-held area. France is home to thousands of Syrian refugees, and its investigating judges have a mandate to determine whether crimes against humanity were committed anywhere in the world.
The case, which about a dozen people have joined, follows a similar one opened in Germany last year. It offers a rare legal avenue for action against the government of President Bashar Assad. Attempts by Western powers to set up an international tribunal for Syria have been blocked by Russia and China at the UN Security Council.
“This is important so that the victims have the possibility to see those responsible being brought to justice and held accountable,” Mazen Darwish, who heads the Paris-based Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), said.
The SCM filed the complaint
China said on Tuesday that it was discussing a visit to its Xinjiang region by United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, but that she should not set out with the aim of condemning its policies. “We also find it regrettable the High Commissioner made unsubstantiated accusations against China,” China’s delegate Jiang Duan told the UN Human Rights Council. “The door to Xinjiang is always open, and we welcome the High Commissioner to visit Xinjiang.” Bachelet said on Friday that she hoped to clinch agreement with Chinese officials about a visit to the country. Louise Arbour was the last UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit China, in September 2005.