Section 3: Landmines

Mwatana documented about 52 cases of landmines exploding in 2018 in Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Taizz, Lahj, Shabwah, Al Bayda, Hajjah, Saada, Al Hudaydah and Marib governorates, killing at least 60 civilians, including eight women and 26 children, and wounding at least 51 others, including 12 women and 21 children. The armed group Ansar Allah (Houthis) was responsible for at least 49 of these cases. Mwatana was unable to identify the violator in three incidents.

Since the beginning of the conflict, landmines have killed dozens of civilians and maimed hundreds of others, including many children working to shepherd livestock and women providing for their households (collecting firewood and water, or tending the fields). Landmines remain a danger and will continue to threaten the lives of thousands of civilians even after the conflict ends.

Injuries from anti-personnel mines can be especially difficult. Many victims are left disabled, and they and their families require long-term assistance and care. Uncertainty regarding the presence of mines in civilian areas, and the fear of their impact, can also impose a psychological toll on survivors, their relatives, and society as a whole.

Legal Framework

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, banned the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines. The Mine Ban Treaty also requires countries to work towards clearing antipersonnel mines and providing assistance to victims.[1] Yemen ratified the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 September 1998.

Landmines, including antivehicle mines, must not be used in ways that amount to indiscriminate attacks. Mines cannot discriminate between civilians and combatants and continue to kill and maim civilians long after a conflict ends. Indiscriminate attacks carried out with criminal intent are war crimes. Mwatana condemns the use of antipersonnel mines.

Case Studies

  • On Friday, 30 March 2018, around 9:30 am, a landmine laid by Ansar Allah (Houthis) exploded on the Ufa Al Yatimah Road in Barat Al Anan district in Al Jawf governorate, killing five civilians, among them a woman and three children.

The landmine detonated when a Toyota pick-up truck passed over it on a sandy road. Engineering units had removed a large number of mines in this area, but many mines remained. According to interviews conducted by Mwatana, Ansar Allah laid mines in the area before they withdrew in December 2017. “Saleh” (35 years old, pseudonym), said: “I reached the area half an hour after the explosion, and the car was still burning. The victims had been burned inside the car.” He said the victims included Yahya Qayed Al Salahi (50 years old), his wife, Salehah Muhsin (45 years old), his son, Hamam Yahya (13 years old), his daughter, Suadah (11 years old), and his grandchild (his daughter’s son), Saleh Ali Hadi (5 years old).”[2]  “Saleh” said: “Landmines are always a danger to us. These landmines are haunting us.”[3]

  • On Wednesday, 30 May 2018, at around 9 am, a landmine near a home in Al Qawz village in Jabal Hibshi district of Taizz governorate exploded, wounding a woman and two children.

Awf Muqbil (33 years old), a member of the family, said: “The people of the village had only returned to their homes three days before, after Ansar Allah left the area. We heard an explosion, and the windows in the room that I was sleeping in broke. I left the house, and I was shocked to see two children, Samirah Tawfiq Muqbil Saleh Abdoh (5 years old) and Rafiq Tawfiq Muqbil Saleh Abdoh (7 years old) on the ground next to my sister-in-law. Their blood had mixed with the dirt around them.”[4] According to interviews conducted by Mwatana, the landmine was disguised as a rock and Ansar Allah (Houthis) had laid mines in the area before they withdrew on 5 May 2018.

  • On Monday, 10 September 2018, at around 10:30 am, a landmine laid by Ansar Allah (Houthis) killed Aidarous Abdulkafi Abdulbari (26 years old) and Ali Hashem Muhammad Sallam (39 years old) after they drove over it on a motorcycle towards Al Adheer Bridge in Hayfan district of Taizz governorate.[5]

Aref Shamlan (58 years old), distraught after losing his nephew, said: “Amran left behind a family made up of his wife and his toddler. Who will support them now?” According to testimonies collected by Mwatana, Ansar Allah (Houthis) laid mines in the area before they withdrew on 1 September 2018. They then positioned themselves around half a kilometer to the north.[6]

  • On Saturday, 29 December 2018, at around 4:30 pm, a landmine laid by Ansar Allah (Houthis) exploded in the fields of Abu Halfah’s Farm in southern Al Zuhoor Neighborhood in Al Hali district in Al Hudaydah governorate, killing three girls.

The landmine killed three girls, including Manar Muhammad Zaw’ (9 years old), Noorah Muhammad Zaw’ (12 years old), and Saeed Ahmad Shaybah (16 years old). The girls were collecting firewood from the farm, around a kilometer from the frontlines where Ansar Allah (Houthis) and forces affiliated with the Coalition and Hadi government (the Giants Brigade “Al Amaliqah” and the Tehama Resistance Forces).

[1] The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. This convention became effective on 1 March 199, after forty countries had signed it, Article 1

[2] Mwatana for Human Rights’ interview with eyewitnesses, 8 May 2018

[3] Ibid.

[4] Mwatana for Human Rights’ interview with Awif Muqbil, 30 May 2018

[5] Mwatana for Human Rights’ interview with eyewitnesses, 3 November 2018

[6] Ibid.