“Masam” dismantles huge quantities of explosives in a booby-trapped boat near Bab al-Mandab

Mr. Ousama Algosaibi, the Managing Director of the “Masam” Landmine Clearance project in Yemen said that Yemen is experiencing a real disaster that threatens the lives of civilians, represented in the indiscriminate planting of mines and explosive devices.
Algosaibi added according to the project’s estimates the landmines planted in the Yemeni territories amount to two million mines, pointing out that the Houthi militia continues to plant mines and explosive devices in complete disregard of international rules and norms established by civilized nations.
Although the project specializes in dealing with landmines, Algosaibi revealed that at the beginning of the year one of the project teams, in cooperation with the Yemeni National Mine Action Program, examined a fishing boat washed up on the coast of Bab al-Mandeb and towed by locals. After preliminary inspections, the team discovered that the boat contained a huge explosive device containing 25 kg of the highly explosive (C4), and about 50 kg of (TNT) in addition to 25 barrels of gasoline with a capacity of 20 liters each. The team safely removed these components and disposed of the improvised explosive devices.
“Such incidents confirm the militia’s determination to disrupt international trade in one of the world’s most important straits; thus harming the local economy based on fishing activities, in addition to polluting the marine environment,” he said
This came in a speech delivered yesterday by the Managing Director of the “MASAM” project during the symposium held on mine clearance efforts and their impact on peace and human security organized by the European Organization of Islamic Centers (EOIC) in Geneva, pointing to the need for the international community to understand the magnitude of the disaster in Yemen.
“The project teams do not work in normal conditions nor traditional minefields, but rather we deal with randomly planted mines in the technical sense, where we face mines and explosive devices planted in the floor of schools, at the entrances of houses, and on the trees. We also faced explosive devices designed in the form of rocks and tree trunks and found on some roads inside villages improvised explosive devices planted in tuna and bean cans”, he said.
Algosaibi touched on the challenges facing the MASAM project teams, explaining that in addition to the huge quantities of mines, improvised explosive devices, and unexploded ordnance, they include natural factors such as the environment and weather, as well as the rugged geographical nature of areas where mine laying operations by the Houthi militia are active.
He explained that the project teams work on steep mountain slopes and rugged heights, and perform their tasks in spacious areas along the coasts that have a rocky nature and dense vegetation. In addition, the project is committed to applying the highest security and technical standards during its work to maintain the safety of its members, which adds to these challenges, adding that “all these challenges will not prevent us from continuing our work until we achieve our goal of “a mine-free Yemen.”
During his speech, Algosaibi referred to the humanitarian cases the “Masam” teams face during their work in the sites contaminated by the mines and explosive devices planted by the terrorist militia, which testify to the Houthi militia’s criminal responsibility for these horrifying tragedies.
Since its inception in mid-2018, the project has cleared 438,413 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), he said.
At the end of the symposium, in which political figures and experts from international organizations participated, Mr. Ousama Algosaibi received two shields and two certificates of appreciation from Dr. Mohajeri Zayan, the head of the European Organization of Islamic Centers (EOIC) in recognition of his distinguished leadership of one of the largest humanitarian projects operating in Yemen, and the humanitarian work provided by the “Masam” project in Yemeni territory.