Funerals, displacement and poverty .. "Karesh" and "Al-Shareja" after the Houthi turned it into a minefield
English - Saturday 13 August 2022 الساعة 08:51 am
Aden, NewsYemen, special:
The residents of Karesh and Al-Shareja, located between the governorates of Lahj and Taiz, have been living amid an open minefield for more than 7 years. These two areas are among the most Yemeni areas that the Houthi militia has booby-trapped with mines and explosive devices.
After their rapid defeat in Aden, Lahj, and Al-Anad base, the Houthis retreated to these two areas, and they lost the ability to fight under the strikes of the southern resistance backed by the Arab coalition, while they were afraid that the battles would move to the directorates south and east of Taiz Governorate, and therefore they resorted to a large-scale booby-trapping operation to " Karsh and Al-Shareja” as a criminal option to impede the advancing forces from the far south.
Houthi mines have caused dozens of civilian casualties in Lahj, including dead and wounded, mostly children and women, in recent years, and caused permanent disabilities to dozens of others.
In addition, large areas and lands in the areas of Karsh, Al-Shareja and Al-Dhahi have turned into death fields with the surplus of mines left by the Houthi militia, on public roads, in residential areas, and in the people’s farms.
Agricultural activity in those areas declined in an unprecedented manner in recent years, after the Houthis turned fertile areas into mines and explosives fields, as the population found themselves forced to stop their activities in agricultural fields under the pressure of fear of mines, and as a result the farms deserted and many families were forced to Leaving their villages for a living.
The hidden Houthi killer..a constant danger
Mansour Ali Seif, director of the health unit in Karsh, told NewsYemen about the suffering of the region's residents from mines and explosive devices planted by the Houthis, before they were expelled by a military operation.
Saif said that the Houthi militia deliberately planted large numbers of mines in the "Karesh" area, causing the greatest harm to civilians.
The health official touched on mine victims and said that last May, two girls were killed in the village of Qadash in Al-Dahi district, north of Lahj, while a third, Sabah Salem Ghaleb, was killed by a Houthi mine explosion in Al-Huwaimi area while she was grazing sheep.
"Saif" listed the names of dozens of civilians from the people of "Karsh" who died in the Houthi militia's mines in the last period, including women and children, pointing out that there are families who lost more than one person because of the killer buried underground.
He pointed out that there are dozens of civilians who have escaped death with explosions of mines and land bombs, but they have become permanently disabled (amputees).
The health official in Lahj told "Newsyemen", "Al-Shareja and Al-Dhahi areas are still booby-trapped with hundreds of mines and explosives, and it is necessary for the concerned authorities to remove them because the residents are at risk."
He pointed out that the continuation of the mines left by the Houthis makes life difficult for residents in many villages and regions north of Lahj Governorate.
The Houthis continue to plant mines
In turn, media activist Majid Shaif Al-Tahri says that what the Houthi militia did by planting thousands of mines before they were expelled from the Karsh border area between Lahj and Taiz caused a tragedy for the residents.
In an interview with NewsYemen, Al-Tahri confirmed that the Houthi militias are still infiltrating the areas of Karsh, Al-Shareja and Al-Dhahi, to plant individual mines along the outlets and roads linked to the Khadir District in Taiz Governorate, and the villages of the Hamala Mountains, Qadash, Al-Suhahi, and Al-Shareja.
He added, "The victims of mines are increasing in Karesh areas. During this period, young children went out to graze their sheep (the number was not specified) and returned as scattered remains in one of the reefs."
He said that Houthi mines deprived farmers of the crops of their farms, and this doubled the conditions of poverty and hunger among the population, noting that many of the people of those areas became homeless and displaced in Karesh, Aqan, Al-Anad, Sabr, Lahj and Aden.
He pointed out that the Saudi project "Masam" had carried out demining operations in the area for a year, but it was halted as its teams were unable to complete the work, due to the expansion of minefields over large areas between the governorates of Lahj and Taiz.
He believed that the problem of mines will continue in the areas of Karsh and others, and it is necessary to provide sufficient financial support and modern means by experts to detect their whereabouts, send several trained teams and develop a comprehensive plan for all areas, where the presence of mines is suspected or confirmed to carry out the field survey and extraction process.
continuous displacement
In turn, Dr. Nidal Jalil drew attention to the worrying situation in Karesh and Al-Shareja, after the Houthi militia booby-trapped them with thousands of mines due to the proximity of the two areas to the asphalt line linking Aden and Taiz.
"Jalil" explained that the most booby-trapped areas in the minefields of Karsh and Al-Shareja, which killed many civilians, are (Al-Tabra, Al-Sahi, Qadash, Al-Mashjoura, Abjar, and Al-Sab Al-Aloub), in addition to (Al-Dukkhana, Al-Rahaw, Al-Habil Al-Abyad, Al-Shuaib and Najd Al-Merza'a).
He stressed that the heavy losses inflicted by Houthi mines on the residents of the two areas prompted many of them to leave their villages and flee with their families and children to distant areas and cities to escape the specter of death.
