Yemen landmine crisis persists despite active ceasefire and de-mining advances
While Project Masam has cleared hundreds of thousands of devices since 2018, inaccessible territories, environmental factors, and personnel shortages continue to hinder full clearance and leave civilians vulnerable.
Despite a ceasefire that has been in place since April 2022, the threat of landmines and explosive remnants of war remains a critical governance failure in Yemen. According to data from Save the Children, at least 339 children have been killed and 843 injured by these devices since the truce took effect. The persistence of these casualties indicates that the cessation of active hostilities has not translated into immediate safety for the civilian population in former conflict zones.
The scale of the hazard is compounded by the sheer volume of unexploded ordnance left over from years of brutal ground fighting and aerial bombardning. A 2022 study by Yemeni human rights groups documented that between April 2014 and March 2022, 534 children and 177 women were killed, with thousands more injured across 17 provinces. The Taiz governorate recorded the highest number of casualties, reflecting the intensity of the conflict in that region.
De-mining operations are underway, yet the pace of clearance struggles to match the volume of danger. Project Masam, a de-mining initiative funded by Saudi Arabia, reported the removal of 549,452 mines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices by March 20, 2026. The project has cleared explosives from 7,799 hectares since its launch in July 2018. Concurrently, the Danish Refugee Council cleared over 23,302 square metres of land earlier this month.
However, experts note that significant structural barriers prevent the total elimination of the threat. Adel Dashela, a researcher at the MESA Global Academy, identified that indiscriminate planting and territories controlled by armed groups render many areas inaccessible to de-miners. Furthermore, the lack of clear maps, a shortage of qualified local personnel, and deficits in modern detection equipment create substantial operational hurdles for clearance teams.
Environmental factors further complicate the policy landscape surrounding de-mining. Flash floods, such as those experienced in August 2025, have been observed to sweep explosives from previously cleared areas into new locations. This natural displacement of ordnance exposes new populations to risk and delays the finalisation of safe zones, undermining the long-term stability of cleared territories.
The human cost of these operational gaps is evident in the ongoing suffering of civilians. In the first half of 2025 alone, 107 civilians were killed or injured, including five children who died while playing football on a dirt field in Taiz. While some survivors have rebuilt their lives, the legacy of the conflict continues to dictate movement and safety in rural areas, turning fields and roads into zones of ongoing danger.
