Seventeen-year-old Yemeni Muhanad Mubarak Al-Aqili lost his life after a stray shrapnel from a landmine explosion settled in his abdomen. Muhanad was returning home from school in Harib district when the incident occurred last year.

In January 2024 alone, 17 people, including children, were either killed or injured due to landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Yemen, according to the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP). The project warns that the total number of victims is likely to rise in 2024.

Recent data from Save the Children (SCI) shows a sharp increase in child victims of landmines and UXO between 2018 and 2022, with incidents rising from one child every five days to one every two days. Shockingly, children account for more than half of the victims in Yemen, making them disproportionately vulnerable to these hidden dangers compared to adults.

Approximately 20 percent of child casualties in the Yemeni conflict are due to landmine and UXO incidents. The governorates of Al-Hodeidah, Taiz, and Sa’ada have reported the highest number of such cases, according to the Justice for Yemen Pact coalition. The coalition holds the Houthi group responsible for about 72 percent of these incidents, with the remaining attributed to unknown groups or outlaws.

The Justice for Yemen Pact coalition, consisting of ten human rights organizations, monitors the human rights situation in Yemen—a country that has endured severe violations amid the ongoing conflict between the Houthi group, which controls the capital Sanaa, and the internationally recognized government, whose temporary headquarters are located in Aden.

Among the tragic stories are those of children who have survived landmine explosions but suffer from severe injuries, including amputated limbs, loss of vision, physical deformities, and serious wounds. These survivors face lengthy and exhausting treatment processes, compounded by the lack of adequate medical facilities and the ongoing instability in Yemen.

Muhanad’s family initially dismissed his injury as minor, but his condition rapidly deteriorated. Hours after the injury, he was rushed to a hospital, where doctors discovered that the shrapnel had caused severe complications. After a year of suffering, Muhanad tragically succumbed to his injuries.

In another tragic case, seven-year-old Saif Basam Al-Jalla required multiple surgeries to remove shrapnel from his body after a landmine exploded near him while he was playing with friends at Al-Nour camp in Marib. The explosion caused severe injuries to Saif’s intestines.

The coalition also documented the story of 13-year-old Hussein from Marib. On June 3, 2023, Hussein was severely injured when a 23-millimeter shell exploded while he was fetching water for his family. The explosion left him with fractures in his left leg, limiting his mobility to this day.

Other cases documented by the coalition include 12-year-old Abdul Aziz, who was injured when an unexploded shell he found and played with exploded, resulting in burns, bleeding, and the amputation of one of his fingers, and 12-year-old Nada Mansour from Taiz Governorate, who lost her right hand and left eye after a landmine exploded while she was collecting firewood.

The Suffering of Victims’ Families

Saleh Khalid Sabr relocated his family to the Al-Suwaida’a camp in the city of Marib under extremely difficult conditions. However, tragedy struck when his wife went to burn garbage with their two children and younger brother. While they were collecting the garbage, a violent explosion occurred, killing his son Abdul Hamid, his daughter Tawadu, and his brother Omar.

Through tears, Saleh painfully recounts his loss, stating: “Losing a child is the most agonizing suffering anyone can endure.” He bitterly remembers his son Abdul Hamid, affectionately called “the doctor,” his daughter Tawadu, known as “the teacher,” and his brother Omar, whom he referred to as “the sheikh.” Saleh fervently calls for addressing the landmine issue and holding the perpetrators accountable, emphasizing that this ongoing tragedy continues to claim lives daily.

Within this context, Ishraq Al-Maqtari, a member of the National Committee to Investigate Human Rights Violations in Taiz Governorate, stresses the importance of accountability in addressing human rights violations in Yemen. “This mechanism is crucial in reducing impunity and preventing the recurrence of such violations,” she explains, noting that it is the first demand of victims who have suffered severe violations affecting their right to life and physical safety. The intensity of their suffering has heightened their awareness and demand for justice.

Saleh’s experience mirrors that of Hamid Yahya, also from the Al-Suwaida’a camp. Hamid’s three children were struck by a landmine on their way home from school last year. Two of them died instantly, while the third survived but lost his right hand and eye, with shrapnel scattered throughout his body.

Saleh, Hamid, and other families who have lost children or are caring for injured ones are raising their voices, demanding “international intervention to remove landmine maps and clear affected areas.” These families also call for “holding those responsible accountable, providing support and treatment for the victims, and ensuring that their needs are met.”

However, these families express deep disappointment with the local and international response to their plight. Despite years of suffering, they feel marginalized and neglected, with no concrete solutions or practical steps provided to address their concerns.

Saleh Al-Ghanemi from the Marib Dam Foundation (MDF) for Social Development, a local organization supporting landmine victims in Marib Governorate, acknowledges the sense of betrayal felt by these families. “They want the humanitarian community to stand by them, and we do our best to support their suffering,” he says.

The stories of Saif and Muhanad are just two examples of the many tragedies that have yet to be thoroughly documented, revealing the full scale of the disaster. The coalition and the ten organizations involved face unsafe conditions and complex updates as they document these violations.

Khaled Al-Shajni, assistant director of the Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps in Marib, highlights that landmines continue to claim lives in the governorate. “The landmines are planted randomly, causing casualties on roads, in displacement camps, and in valleys and agricultural lands,” he explains. 

Marib Governorate hosts 204 camps for internally displaced civilians, housing 263,000 displaced families from across Yemen.

Muhammad Al-Ghulaisi, an observer with the National Committee to Investigate Human Rights Violations, urges the Houthi group to stop planting landmines and hand over their maps for removal and clearance. The National Committee is a national mechanism for monitoring and investigating human rights violations committed in Yemen by all parties. It was established under the GCC Initiative and its implementation mechanism, UN Security Council Resolution 2051 of 2012, Resolution 2140 of 2014, and relevant Human Rights Council resolutions.

Al-Ghulaisi stresses the need for the international community to apply pressure on the Houthis to hand over the mine maps, intensify awareness programs about the dangers of mines, and support victim rehabilitation programs, as the victims are in urgent need of rehabilitation, support, and compensation.

“The Largest Minefield”

Since 2015, the laying of mines in Yemen has been catastrophic, spreading unexploded ordnance across the country. An analysis by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in November 2022 revealed a 20 percent increase in civilian casualties from explosive remnants of war since the ceasefire process began in April 2022, compared to the previous six months.

Amin Al-Aqili, director of the National Mine Action Program, previously stated that over 1.25 million mines and explosive devices had been removed since 2015. 

Despite these efforts, in an April 4 post on X commemorating the International Day of Mine Awareness, the U.S. Embassy in Yemen warned that it would take eight years to clear the more than 2 million landmines planted by the Houthi militia.

Proposed Solutions

The Justice for Yemen Pact coalition, which documents data on landmine and UXO victims, has proposed several solutions to end this threat and protect civilian lives, especially children. These include encouraging research and innovation in mine detection and clearance technologies, strengthening accountability and justice tools, compensating victims and their families, and establishing an independent investigation mechanism to monitor progress in this area.

However, the coalition emphasizes that these solutions will only be effective if detailed maps of landmine locations are provided and incorporated into peace negotiations and agreements between conflicting parties in Yemen. The coalition also calls for international cooperation initiatives to remove mines across the country and for the launch of awareness programs focused on educating Yemeni civilians about the risks of landmines, assisting victims, and rehabilitating them.

Yemen ratified the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines in 1998, which required the government to destroy the stockpile of planted mines within ten years. However, the Yemeni government has submitted four requests to postpone its obligations under Article 5 of the Convention, with the latest extension granted until March 2028.

This comes at the same time as the UN Experts Panel’s revelations of violations of international humanitarian law related to the indiscriminate use of mines in the country, according to reports from the coalition.

The coalition, comprising ten Yemeni human rights organizations, affirms that the landmine issue continues to threaten civilian lives. The Experts warn that without collective efforts to end this threat, more children will die, families will lose their loved ones, and Yemeni civilians will live in constant fear of a landmine explosion.