Executive Center for Mine Action Warns of Danger of US-Saudi Aggression’s Remnant

 Almasirah channel published an investigation of the dangers posed by mines and remnants of aggression and the role of the Executive Center for Mine Action in mitigating the risks that threaten the lives of civilians in several governorates.

Director of the Executive Center for Mine Action, Brigadier General Ali Safra, revealed a number of obstacles and challenges facing the center and limiting its work in clearing and removing the remnants of the aggression from mines and cluster bombs. He pointed out that “the limited human resources compared to the size and scope of pollution, cluster bombs and remnants of war have become a societal problem and a problem facing the Yemeni government.”

He pointed out that the center is the only program among 164 countries in the world that deals with explosives without life jackets and protective equipment, pointing to the UN’s disavowal of the center’s support by saying, “The United Nations and the Development Program have stopped the support.”

Safra explained that the center managed to remove 204 cluster bombs this year, bringing the total that has been lifted since the start of the aggression to more than 4.5 million small cluster bombs. He stated that from time to time, the center is surprised by discovering new types of cluster bombs targeting Yemen, where 19 types of American, British, Brazilian and finally Pakistani cluster bombs were detected.

He also revealed that the number of victims reached 46 during October of this year, including 18 martyrs and 28 wounded, and during the first week of November there are 8 martyrs, and the total number of victims during this year reached 650.

For his part, Director of the Monitoring and Documentation Department at the Executive Center for Mine Action, Colonel Amin Salman, confirmed that the number of victims documented since the beginning of the truce on April 2 until November 7, reached 119, including 54 children.

He warned, “Our center sounds the alarm and announces to everyone that the various threats and negative effects of cluster bombs are still ongoing and their impact extends for decades.”

In October, the Executive Center for Mine Action revealed numbers of the victims hit by US-Saudi remnant bombs and mines since the signing of the UN-sponsored truce in April 2022 until this October.

The statistics indicated that the total number of children was 131, including 25 killed, while the number of women reached 26, including 4 killed.

It is noteworthy that the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Joyce Msuya, visited on the 14th of this October, Al-Hodeidah Governorate, and was briefed on the conditions of the medical services in the Al-Thawra Hospital Authority, and the condition of the victims in the hospital.

Earlier, Hodeidah Governor Muhammad Ayyash Qahim said that the goverorate is waiting for the United Nations to expedite the installation of bridge cranes in the port of Hodeidah and to stop piracy on fuel ships.

This comes during a meeting of the leadership of Hodeidah Governorate and the Red Sea port with the Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the team of the United Nations mission in the governorate.

The governor of Hodeidah explained that between three to four victims of mines and cluster bombs fall daily in the south of the province, while the US-Saudi aggression prevents the arrival of detectors.

For his part, Muhammad Abu Bakr Ishaq, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Red Sea Ports Corporation, considered that the port of Hodeidah is an essential partner for the United Nations organizations in humanitarian efforts.

Ishaq indicated that the direct damages to targeting the port amounted to 2 billion dollars, and we agreed with the United Nations on an emergency treatment program worth 713 million dollars, and we received only 7 million dollars.

He stressed that piracy on fuel ships is done arbitrarily and in violation of the Geneva Conventions and all international laws.

 In turn, Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, stated that he noticed mine victims in Al-Thawra Hospital, affirming full commitment to help the Yemeni people.

 Meanwhile, David Grisley, the humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, explained that funding for Yemen this year was less than all previous years, and this led to a reduction in food distribution.

David Grisley stressed that the movement is very safe in Hodeidah, and this has helped in carrying out humanitarian work smoothly, adding that mines are a real problem that leaves many victims.

He stressed that the bridge cranes in the port of Hodeidah are a priority, adding that they will work to achieve them and mobilize resources for the port.