Minefields in mountains: when deminers face the greatest danger
Demining is a complicated task. It is made even more dangerous when deminers have to clear flanks of steep, rugged mountains across most of the region between Yemen’s Coastal Plains and Highlands.
This is where two Masam Teams - 27 and 28- are operating. Their clearance activities are focused on the Al-Alfaqi village in the mountainous Al Bugar area, located in the Karsh district in Yemen’s southern power keg Lahj Province.
Since the break out of the war, the Karsh frontline has been the scene of intense fighting between the Yemeni government forces and Houthi-backed militias. According to Project Masam, Houthis have left a trail of landmines in their retreat from various frontlines, including in the Karsh district, since at least 2015.
“The main reasons for finding mines in these rugged and mountainous areas by the Mine Clearance Teams are due to the fact that the opposing forces [Houthi militias] lay anti-tank and anti-personnel mines on their approach routes to prevent the enemy [Coalition Forces] to reach the high ground,” Masam Aden Operations Officer and Project Manager Gus Maartens, said.
“In war, the rule is “He who dominates the high ground usually wins the Battle”, thus during war it is normally an advantage for whoever holds the high ground, as it serves to protect observation posts, defensive positions as well as sniper positions.
“In Yemen, you find anti-personnel mines in footpaths winding up the mountain. Anti-tanks are found on roads going up the mountain,” Maartens said. “Most of the areas in which Masam operates were previous frontlines, or positions and are also littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO) scrap metal.”
Lurking dangers
Both teams operating in the Al Bugar area are clearing an anti-personnel minefield, with Team 27, led by Ali Hadi Rashid Hussaen, carrying out clearance and Leader Fekry Hasan Naji’s Team 28 conducting surveys.
Landmines may be very difficult to detect if they are located on the side of jagged mountains or rocky terrain, but mine clearance in mountainous areas is always dangerous due to the steep angle of clearance operations, loose rocks, and the fact that deminers can easily slip and step out of the cleared areas.
Other real threats include mine migration during the rainy season, and because there is a combination of different anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that are used in Yemen, deminers face the risk of blast and/or directional fragmentation. On rock-strewn terrain, IED rock mines are well concealed and can be triggered by passive infrared (PIR) sensors.
No easy task
Humanitarian demining is a dangerous occupation. Despite safety policies and international standards applied in all clearance activities, accidents can happen.
“In mountainous areas, casualty evacuation takes longer, because patients need to be taken down the mountain to the ambulance,” Maartens said, highlighting yet another threat posed to deminers.
Whilst it is difficult to estimate how much of Masam’s total clearance in Yemen is considered to be in difficult terrain, the Operations Officer said no minefield is an easy task.
“There is always an element of risk involved, whether in a mountainous area or a simple minefield on the beach,” he explained.
Since Masam first entered Yemen in mid-2018, Project Masam has located and destroyed 286,080 explosive devices, effectively clearing 27,655,847sqm of Yemeni liberated land.
These include 4,174 anti-personnel mines, 96,046 anti-tank mines, 6,111 EDs and 179,749 UXO (as at 05 November 2021).
Clearance work on the minefield in Al-Alfaqi village continues.
By Elsa Buchanan
