News – Yemen: The Director of the Executive Center for Mine Action, Brigadier General Ali Safra, revealed, Sunday, that the death toll with US-Saudi remnants has reached more than 40, most of them children, since the beginning of this year. He explained that the center destroyed 15 thousand shells and cleaned 2 million square meters.

Brigadier General Ali Safra told Almasirah that Nearly 15,000 different shells left over from the aggression were destroyed, and more than 2 million square meters were cleared during the past year. He indicated that the center is currently facing great difficulties with regard to clearing sand piles and desertification in Hodeidah Governorate, which covers the remnants of the aggression.

He appealed to the United Nations to introduce mine-scanning and detection devices which the US-Saudi coalition prevented them from entering Yemen, stressing that the aggression coalition deliberately continues to obstruct and prevent humanitarian aid.

The Center confirmed in a statistic for the month of January, 2023 that 30 citizens were killed and injured by  the US-Saudi aggression exploded in the governorates of Hodeidah, Al-Jawf, Saada, Sana'a, and the Nehm district.

On Friday, the Executive Center for Mine Action stated in a statement that 14 citizens were killed and 16 others were injured, including 14 children were killed and wounded by the remnants of the aggression.

The center pointed out that during the first three days of this February, 2023,  the fall of ten citizens were killed and wounded, in several governorates.

The center expressed its strong condemnation of these tragedies came in light of international silence about the crime of the US-Saudi aggression by preventing the entry of mine detectors, which represents an obstruction of humanitarian work, and deliberate harm to the largest number of Yemenis.

The statement pointed to the provisions of Articles No. 3-7-8 of the Fifth Protocol, annexed to the Convention on Prohibition or Restriction of the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons, which may be considered excessively harmful or indiscriminate, the failure to take preventive measures to protect civilians during and after conflict, which is represented in Preventing entry of detectors.

The Executive Center for Mine Action renewed the call for the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the head of the United Nations Mission in Support of the Iron Agreement, General Michael Perry, and the Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen to play their role in providing devices and equipment that contribute to saving civilians, including children and women, securing sources their livelihood, freedom of safe movement for all Yemenis between regions and several governorates.

It is noteworthy that the US-Saudi aggression dropped thousands of cluster bombs on various Yemeni governorates and regions, which poses a threat to the lives of citizens, especially children.

The Executive Center for Mine Action has revealed that the number of victims during 2022 was 244 deaths and 490 injuries, including children and women, in several governorates, mostly in Hodeidah.

The death toll from the remnants of US-Saudi aggression during October only reached 18 deaths and 28 injuries as a result of mines and cluster bombs, while it reached 219 deaths and 424 injuries since the beginning of this year.

These tragedies came in light of international silence about the crime of the US-Saudi aggression by preventing the entry of mine detectors, which represents an obstruction of humanitarian work, and deliberate harm to the largest number of Yemenis.

Many areas in Yemen's governorates have been bombarded by US-Saudi aggression with cluster bombs, while many of those internationally prohibited bombs are still scattered among farms and roads, and their victims are in the dozens.

The victims of cluster bombs have reached more than 25,000 civilians since the beginning of the US-Saudi aggression on Yemen.

The landmines and other remnants of the forces of aggression that they planted during their occupation, still pose a threat to the residents of many areas of the districts, especially farms and roads.

In official statistics, 2,500 cluster, destructive, phosphorous and piercing bomb raids targeted nine governorates in Yemen, foremost among which were US bombs like the CBU-87, British bombs like the BL755 and the Brazilian ASTROS II bombs.

Each of these weapons has its own properties and high impacts on humans and the environment, which remain life threatening for a long period of time. This shows the scale of the disaster that befell Yemen as a result of these US, British and other weapons.

The US-Saudi aggression refuses to enter equipment and devices to detect explosives in light of the silence of the United Nations, which bears the greatest responsibility for the continued casualties due to the remnants of the aggression, including mines and cluster bombs.