Civilians—shepherds, farmers, and housewives—have become direct targets of landmines that do not distinguish between a fighter’s footsteps and the path of a woman leading her flock.

By Afrah Borji (South24 Center)

Khaddam Ali Dublah, a man in his thirties from Al-Khoukha district in southern Hodeidah governorate, had no idea that his routine outing to graze sheep in 2022 would mark a turning point in his life. He went out with a friend as usual, with no sign of danger in sight. But the ground beneath his feet was booby-trapped. A randomly planted landmine exploded, severing both his legs instantly and ushering in a new life defined by disability and helplessness.

Khaddam’s story is not an exception; it is among thousands of similar tragedies caused by landmines daily in Yemen. While the sounds of artillery have quieted in some battlefronts, death continues to lurk silently beneath the soil, creating a new generation of disabled civilians, who have no connection to the fighting. Children playing, women gathering firewood, shepherds and farmers walking familiar paths—suddenly find themselves without limbs, sight, or the ability to move.

Khaddam lost both of his lower limbs due to a landmine explosion (Image for South24, provided by the victim himself)

In the absence of accurate maps identifying mine locations and with strict constraints placed on the demining teams, the danger zone is expanding while the efforts for prevention are shrinking. Local authorities and international organizations are unable to meet the growing medical and psychological needs of victims, amid weak funding and the absence of long-term institutional vision.

This report sheds light on the dimensions of this ongoing catastrophe through direct testimonies from victims, official analyses by specialists, and statistics that reveal the scale of the threat posed by landmines to Yemeni society, especially in the most contaminated governorates, where surviving death does not necessarily mean escaping disability and permanent damage.

Victims of a War They Never Fought

In villages, farms, and on the outskirts of Yemeni cities, danger is no longer limited to frontlines or combat zones. Civilians—shepherds, farmers, and housewives—have become direct targets of landmines that do not distinguish between a fighter’s footsteps and the path of a woman leading her flock. Their stories repeat, but their pain is the same.

In Hodeidah governorate, Safiya Salem, a 44-year-old woman from Beit Al-Faqih district, went out one afternoon in 2023, as usual, to check on her flock of sheep. While trying to guide them back to the safe path, a landmine exploded beneath her. Safiya awoke to a tragedy that changed the course of her life—she lost her right hand and left leg, along with her ability to work and move. She wasn’t carrying any weapons nor was she part of any conflict; she was just a simple woman following her flock, only to return -- without limbs.

Her cousin, Ahmed Ali, told ‘South24’: "We used to hear about landmines, but we never thought they’d reach our areas. On the day of the incident, we couldn’t believe Safiya had lost her limbs. She was energetic and worked from morning till night. Now she can’t move without help—her life has completely changed."

A Yemeni child who lost both legs due to a landmine explosion in Hodeidah (For South24, by the Saudi Masam Project for Mine Clearance)

In Lahj governorate, Mohammed Shujair, 38, worked as a shepherd in the Al-Sabiha area. In 2018, he went out searching for two of his livestock and strayed from his usual path, only to find himself in a minefield. He was hit by a landmine and taken to hospital, where he realized he had lost his right leg. 

Mohammed, who supports his wife and three children, described his condition to ‘South24’:

"I have become disabled and am unable to work to provide for my family... My economic condition has deteriorated as well as my psychological state as I watch my children ask for things that I cannot afford."

In Shabwa, a child named Othman went out in 2018 to sit near his home, to which his family had returned after displacement. He didn’t know the area, recently liberated from the Houthis, was booby-trapped. A landmine exploded next to his house, causing him to lose his right leg and the toes on his left foot. He suffered partial paralysis and had to miss two years of school.

In the ’Al-Tawfeer‘ area, east of Taiz governorate, two girls, Nada and Nidaa, went out in 2022 to collect firewood to help their mother. They didn’t know the ground beneath them was planted with death. A landmine exploded, severely injuring Nada’s left eye and right hand, while Nidaa suffered shrapnel wounds that weakened her leg muscles and impaired her movement.

Their mother told ‘South24’:

"Nada was diligent and active in school, and always did her homework. Now she struggles to write and tries to use her left hand in vain, as her right hand can no longer perform basic tasks. That incident has changed their lives completely, turning them from normal girls into complex medical and psychological cases."

A Yemeni child who lost a limb due to a landmine explosion in Marib (For South24, by the Saudi Masam Project for Mine Clearance)

In Hodeidah, a child named Rayan Qassem was playing football near the ’Manzar‘ area in 2023 when a landmine exploded, causing him to lose both legs and his left hand. His family says his psychological state has deteriorated, and he can no longer attend school or play with other children.

Amna, a girl from Mahliyah district in Marib governorate, was returning home on August 1, 2024, when she was struck by a landmine explosion. Shrapnel entered her eyes, leaving her blind. Her mother says Amna underwent several surgeries and still needs a corneal transplant to restore her vision.

In all these cases, the victims were not involved in any military or political activity. They carried no weapons and did not cross battlefronts. They were seeking a livelihood, returning home, or sitting outside their doors—yet they became direct victims of a war they never fought, and do not know when it will end or who is planting death beneath their feet.

Landmines removed by engineering teams (For South24 Center, by the Saudi Masam Project for Mine Clearance)

Psychiatrist Dr. Sakhr Al-Shaddadi told ‘South24’: “This reality causes many psychological effects on landmine victims, as their lives transform from a simple one to that of a disabled person. The victim experiences frustration and depression, leading to long-term psychological disorders."

In the absence of a national system for monitoring and documenting landmine victims in Yemen, official figures fail to reflect the true scale of the catastrophe. Geographic distances, lack of safe access, and restrictions in some areas hinder accurate data collection, leaving hundreds of cases unrecorded behind the announced numbers.

Ghaleb Al-Qadeemi, a field monitor for the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Human Rights Violations in Hodeidah, told ‘South24:’

"The number of landmine victims exceeds a thousand, but the Commission only documents those cases we meet directly, making the numbers incomplete, especially in Houthi-controlled areas."

He added that the landmines currently in use are more dangerous than before:

"After converting anti-tank mines into ones that explode with any movement, they’ve become more lethal. The problem is that international law does not criminalize this type, which complicates the situation."

The governorates of Taiz, Hodeidah, Al-Bayda, Al-Jawf, and Marib are among the most affected by landmines, with different groups targeted depending on the nature of each area. In Hodeidah, for example, shepherds and farmers are most impacted, while in Taiz, densely populated civilian neighborhoods suffer the most.

Most survivors of landmine incidents, according to Al-Qadeemi, suffer permanent disabilities amid inadequate medical care and a lack of meaningful international support.

The Prosthetics Crisis and a Lack of Maps

With the rising number of physically disabled victims due to landmine explosions, the urgent need to provide prosthetic limbs has become one of the most critical relief priorities. However, Yemen’s available resources do not match the scale of the crisis. Specialized facilities suffer from funding shortages, lack of sustainability, and high import costs.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Qaisi, Director of Prosthetics at the Ministry of Public Health, told ‘South24’ that the ministry is witnessing an unprecedented increase in the number of victims across several governorates. This prompted it to hold a large workshop that resulted in urgent recommendations, most notably for expanding prosthetic centers in Shabwa, Abyan, and Mocha (Taiz) to meet growing needs. He pointed out that prosthetic limbs are not permanent and require regular replacement over time.

Al-Qaisi pointed out the main challenges in providing prosthetics: "Budget shortages and high import costs... Prosthetics are imported in foreign currency, and the state, given its current economic conditions, cannot provide funding. We rely almost entirely on support from humanitarian organizations such as the King Salman Center, Handicap International, and the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)."

He also emphasized the deep psychological impact of limb loss, especially among children, noting that the ministry’s centers offer not only physical but also psychological and social support, despite limited resources.

Al-Qaisi concluded with a clear recommendation to official authorities:

"A presidential decree should be issued to establish a High Commission for the Wounded and Disabled, funded through an independent support fund with branches in all governorates, to ensure continuous care and rehabilitation services for this forgotten segment of society."

Despite the growing risks posed by landmines and unexploded ordnance, efforts to remove them and identify their locations face structural challenges—chief among them the absence of accurate maps and difficulty in accessing contaminated areas, especially those under military control.

In an official statement to ‘South24’, the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) said it lacks access to areas suspected to be contaminated by landmines and does not have accurate or updated data on mine locations after the 2018 Stockholm Agreement. The mission attributes this to strict security restrictions imposed by the authorities controlling those areas, whether affiliated with the Houthi group or the government.

Despite repeated requests made by the mission to both parties for maps identifying mine locations, it has not received any official maps. This increases the difficulty of risk assessment and complicates technical and logistical coordination with relevant international agencies.

The mission also noted the existence of informal coordination between itself and the Saudi demining initiative ’Masam‘. However, this cooperation does not include the exchange of interim reports or field maps, which limits the effectiveness and impact of the coordination.

In contrast, the mission is making efforts to strengthen cooperation with several international agencies, including UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). These efforts aim to secure civilian areas and facilitate the exchange of vital information, particularly in densely populated regions.

The Saudi ‘Masam’ Project

Since its launch in 2018, the Saudi demining initiative ’Masam‘ has represented one of the most prominent field operations in Yemen aimed at addressing widespread contamination by landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and remnants of war. However, the project’s official figures reveal a terrifying scale of the problem, albeit with what are described as tremendous efforts.

Speaking to ‘South24’, Masam’s General Director Osama Al-Qusaibi stated that, as of the end of June 2025, Masam teams had “cleared 67,971,272 square meters of contaminated land and removed 502,736 landmines, unexploded ordnance, and IEDs.”

Minefield clearance operation (For ‘South24’, by the Saudi Masam Project for Mine Clearance)

According to Al-Qusaibi, Taiz tops the list of the most affected governorates, followed by Shabwa, Al-Jawf, Hodeidah, and Lahj, then Al-Dhalea, Al-Bayda, Saada, Sanaa, and Abyan. He explained that the project deals with two main types of mines:

• Anti-personnel mines

• Anti-tank mines

Al-Qusaibi added that the response mechanism for any report of a suspected contaminated area involves several stages:

“Upon receiving a report, we coordinate with the local authorities to begin sweeping the area, define the work plan, estimate the expected time for clearance, determine the required equipment, and assign the number of teams based on the area’s size, nature, and terrain.”

The project currently operates 32 specialized field teams deployed across various regions. These teams work under extremely dangerous conditions, in the absence of maps and accurate information.

Community awareness campaigns remain one of the few available tools to reduce human casualties, especially among the most vulnerable groups such as children, women, and rural populations.

In this regard, Al-Qusaibi noted that Masam teams continue to conduct regular field awareness campaigns targeting different segments of society in schools, public squares, and remote villages.

The campaigns cover multiple topics, including identifying mine shapes, safe reporting procedures, and how to avoid suspicious objects—particularly in areas surrounding schools, markets, places of worship, and water wells.

Despite the importance of these initiatives, their impact remains limited due to the vast scope of the threat, insufficient funding, and the absence of comprehensive institutional coordination.

Al-Qusaibi illustrated this painful reality: “A landmine does not choose its victim. It does not distinguish between man and woman, or human and animal… That’s why awareness must be intensified in residential areas, farms, and roads—especially among children who tend to play near vital facilities.”

The reality on the ground shows that landmines in Yemen are no longer mere remnants of armed conflict. They have become a permanent tool for producing disability in a society that lacks even the most basic provisions for medical, psychological, and social care.

Thousands of civilians—children, women, shepherds, and farmers—have lost limbs, eyesight, or physical freedom due to mines planted indiscriminately in roads, farms, and homes, without maps and without regard for the right to life. In the face of the state’s incapacity and international inaction, this tragedy persists and continues to expand.

It is imperative to begin treating the landmine issue as a comprehensive national and humanitarian priority—not as a marginal security concern or a temporary rescue mission.

Providing maps, establishing an independent agency for victim care, and ensuring sustainable funding for prosthetics and rehabilitation centers is not a luxury, but a moral, legal, and humanitarian obligation. 

Every day of delay means another victim. Every uncalculated step on the ground could be someone’s last.