RFSD: Houthis set up 'Revival of mines' as new process in al-Hodeida, causing victims
English - Wednesday 13 March 2019 الساعة 06:03 pm
Aden – NewsYemen.net
The Journalist and activist Mujahid al-Qub, the head of the Monitoring Center for Rights, Freedoms and Sustainable Development (RFSD) disclosed frightening information about the Houthi militias' minefields in al-Hodeida province, in western Yemen.
In a televised recorded at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, al-Qub said the Houthi militias intensified mine-laying operations in al-Hodeida after the ceasefire came into effect on Dec. 18.2018.
The activist added that the Houthi gunmen carried out what the so-called "the revival of mines", is a process of planting new landmines in the same places of exploded mines, causing civilian casualties.
Al-Qub reviewed the survey report's contents prepared by RFSD over one year, with the participation of 56 local observers and titled "The Fields of Death".
The Houthi militias had planted an area of 594 kilometers in 17 districts in al-Hodeida province, estimating at 37 fields, he explained.
The head of RFSD stressed that dozens of victims were caught in the traps of these mines, adding that the Houthi minefields spread to new geographical areas, increasing a number of victims significantly after the Stockholm agreement signed between the government and the Houthis.
According to al-Qub, the death toll reached 56, including 20 children and 7 women, while 31 people were wounded, including 9 children, since December 18, 2018.
He pointed out that many farmers and fishermen in al-Hodeida could not access their farms and boats due to Houthi landmines that encircle vast areas along the coast of the province.
Al-Qub said that some 800,000 civilians were almost trapped in minefields in 17 districts of al-Hodeida, at a time the agricultural and economic sectors have lost around $ 2 billion because of landmines planted by the militias.
Around 93 industrial facilities are mined in al-Hodeida, al-Qub said, concluding that the Houthi militias forced dozens of families to flee their homes, in particular in the July 7th neighborhood and al-Zuhoor in al-Hali district.
