The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance in Yemen (MASAM) extracted of 781 unexploded ordnance, 210 anti-tank mines, 27 anti-personnel mines, and six improvised explosive devices — totaling 1,204 mines — during the second week of May, reported Al Arabiya English.

A total of 70,539 mines have been extracted since the start of the project in June 2018.

The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the Houthi militias of planting more than one million mines across the country over the course of three years and said more than 2,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed as a result.

According to a report by UK-based organization Conflict Armament Research (CAR), the use of landmines and IEDs is a growing threat in Yemen, especially as their investigation points to Iran’s hand at providing the Houthis with the necessary bomb-making supplies.

“IEDs and Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device (RCIED) employed by Houthi forces continue to contain components that originate in Iran. The most recent seizures of IED electronics reveal attempts to conceal their provenance,” CAR said in a report published last September 2018. — SG