Five experts killed clearing Houthi landmines for Saudi charity in Yemen
SANAA: Five international experts working for a Saudi project to remove landmines in Yemen have been killed while transporting recovered explosive devices.
The Masam Project said two South Africans, a Croatian, a Bosnian and a Kosovar were killed on Sunday while transporting the materiel in Marib province to a remote location where it could be safely detonated. A British national was wounded.
The project, part of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), began last year and seeks to remove unexploded ordnance from Yemen.
#KSrelief mourns the loss of five demining experts working with #Masam project in #Marib, who have lost their lives while attempting to bring safety and security to the Yemeni people.
— KSrelief (@KSRelief_EN) January 21, 2019
The Houthi militia, which sparked the war in 2014 when it seized the capital Sanaa, is accused of planting vast quantities of landmines to halt pro-government forces reclaiming territory.
The experts “lost their lives while attempting to bring safety and security to the Yemeni people, and their service to mankind will not be forgotten,” the Masam Project said.
The men died when an explosion took place in one of the pick-up trucks that were being used to move collected mines and explosives at about 5am.
The Yemeni government expressed “deep sorrow” for the incident and said the Houthis had killed and wounded thousands of Yemenis by planting landmines.
“The Cabinet expressed heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families, wishing the inured immediate recovery,” the government statement said.
KSRelief said it extended its deepest condolences to the “courageous” victims of the tragedy who were clearing Yemeni territory of landmines “indiscriminately planted by the Houthi militias.”
“KSRelief joins with the rest of the international community in mourning the loss of these highly-committed professionals.”
Masam Project has cleared more than 40,000 landminesn but more than 1 million may have been planted during the conflict by the Iran-backed Houthis.
On Monday, UN envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in the capital, Sanaa, on an unannounced visit to discuss the “complex situation” in and around the coastal city of Hodeidah,
Yemen’s warring parties agreed to a cease-fire in the port last month.
Also under discussion from Monday will be disagreements between the Houthi militia, who hold Hodeidah, and Retired Dutch Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, who is heading a UN mission charged with monitoring the cease-fire.
The Yemeni military and the Arab Coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, has accused the Houthis of hundreds of violations of the agreement, which have killed almost 50 civilians and wounded hundreds more.
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