As part of the ongoing humanitarian efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people, the “Masam” project for clearing Yemeni lands of mines, affiliated with the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid, achieved a new milestone during the second week of January 2026. The project’s field teams were able to remove a total of 1,181 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices that had been planted in various areas, posing a grave threat to the lives of innocent civilians.
Details of field operations in the governorates
The demining and clearance operations covered several Yemeni governorates, with the seized items ranging from anti-personnel and anti-tank mines to unexploded ordnance. In Aden Governorate, teams focused their efforts in the districts of Khormaksar and Aden, where they removed hundreds of pieces of unexploded ordnance. On the western coast, specifically in the districts of Hays in Al Hudaydah Governorate and Al Mukha and Dhubab in Taiz Governorate, engineering teams continued to secure residential and agricultural areas by removing anti-tank mines and forgotten ordnance.
The project’s efforts also extended to Hajjah Governorate, where areas in Midi District were cleared of dozens of anti-tank mines and improvised explosive devices, in addition to qualitative operations in Al-Mudharabah District in Lahj Governorate, Asilan District in Shabwa, and Marib, where the danger of hundreds of munitions and mines that threatened the safety of citizens was neutralized.
The context of the crisis and the importance of the Masam project
This effort comes at a critical juncture, as Yemen is one of the countries most affected by the indiscriminate planting of landmines by militias in conflict zones. These mines make no distinction between military and civilian targets, frequently claiming the lives of women, children, and the elderly, and causing permanent disabilities for many. The Masam project is a vital initiative aimed at restoring security to liberated areas, enabling displaced persons to return to their homes, and allowing farmers to safely reclaim their land.
Statistics reflect the scale of the achievement
In numerical terms, the total number of mines removed since the beginning of January 2026 has risen to 1,917, while the total number since the project's inception has reached a record high of 531,868 mines and unexploded ordnance. This staggering figure reflects the magnitude of the disaster that was averted thanks to God and then to the efforts of the Kingdom through its humanitarian arm, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. These figures underscore the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's unwavering commitment to standing with the Yemeni people, not only through economic and political support, but also by protecting their lives and securing the future of generations to come from the threat of death buried underground.
