Contaminated by: landmines (heavy contamination) including improvised mines, cluster munition remnants (medium contamination), and other unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Article 5 deadline: 1 March 2020
(Not on track to meet the deadline)

Not a signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

The escalation of conflict after March 2015 has resulted in further mine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination, including improvised mines, while at the same time halting systematic mine clearance operations and disrupting prospects for implementing plans set out in the Republic of Yemen’s second Article 5 deadline extension request. The Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC) has become, de facto, two organizations, split between the southern city of Aden controlled by the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s internationally recognized but exiled government, and the capital Sanaa, under the control of the Houthi. The Sanaa office coordinates operations in the north and center of the country and the Aden office oversees operations in southern provinces. All survey and clearance of mines and ERW are conducted by YEMAC. YEMAC conducted clearance in nine of Yemen’s 21 governorates in 2016, clearing 3km², a significant increase from 2015 when only limited emergency spot clearance was conducted. A total of 16,440 antipersonnel mines were destroyed.

Recommendations for action

• YEMAC should draw up a plan for mine and cluster munition clearance, setting out priorities for survey and clearance.
• YEMAC should increase survey and clearance capacity.
• YEMAC teams should be trained in and apply land release methodologies.

Mine Contamination

Yemen’s Article 7 report submitted in 2017 stated 569 suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) covering 323km² remained and that survey was expected to identify additional contamination.[1] In a 2017 progress report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) observed that “currently, there are very few tangible indicators measuring contamination or impact and what is available is outdated, ad hoc and often anecdotal.”[2]

Yemen is contaminated with mines from conflicts in 1962–1969 and 1970–1983, the mines that were laid in border areas between North and South Yemen before they unified in 1990, and those used in successive conflicts that erupted since 1994.[3] The extent of Yemen’s contamination is not known. Mine contamination resulted from the 2010 insurgency in northern Saada governorate led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi[4] and the 2011 insurgency around southern Abyan by militants belonging to Ansar al-Sharia, linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.[5] YEMAC reported that insurgents in Saada had laid improvised mines, later clearing some but missing others.[6] In 2011, under former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s Republican Guard reportedly laid thousands of mines in the Bani Jarmoz area near Sanaa. The number of mines and extent of area affected remain to be determined. Information provided to YEMAC by local inhabitants in February 2014 suggested 25 villages were impacted.[7] The UN said mines were laid in the conflict that escalated in March 2015 in areas controlled by Houthi rebels and associated forces.[8] Mines were reported to have been placed in residential areas, main streets, homes, farms, and paths frequented by civilians.[9] Between the flare up in hostilities in March 2015 and mid-2016, most minelaying was carried out in Aden, Marib, and Taiz governorates, which also experienced the most ERW incidents although Abyan and Ibb governorates also experienced heavy landmine-related casualties.[10] (See Yemen’s Mine Ban and Casualty profiles for further details.)

Improvised mines have also become a significant feature of the conflict in the past decade. YEMAC reported Houthi forces emplaced improvised mines in Saada governorate during the 2006–2009 insurgency and frequently clears “cold” or abandoned devices.[11] Human Rights Watch said YEMAC had cleared improvised mines in areas from which Houthi forces withdrew near the port city of Mokha in February 2017.[12]

Cluster Munition Contamination

Yemen was already contaminated with cluster munition remnants before 2015, but the escalation of armed conflict since March 2015 has significantly increased both its extent and the threat to the civilian population, mainly as a result of airstrikes by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. (See the Cluster Munition Ban Policy profile for further information.) YEMAC reported in 2014 it had identified some 18km² of suspected cluster munition hazards in the northern Saada governorate bordering Saudi Arabia. It also knew of other areas of contamination in northwestern Hajjah governorate that it had not been able to survey.[13]

Since the start of the latest round of hostilities in March 2015, international observers and researchers reported that Saudi coalition land and aerial bombardments using a variety of cluster munitions had struck many areas of northwestern and central Yemen, with the latest confirmed attacks occurring in February 2017.[14] YEMAC has identified heavy cluster munition contamination in Saada and al-Jawf governorates as well as additional cluster munition contamination in Amran, Hodeida, Mawit, and Sanaa governorates, including in Sanaa city.[15] Contamination was also reported in Hayran, in Hajjah governorate.[16]

Program Management

A National Mine Action Committee (NMAC) is responsible for formulating policy, allocating resources, and developing a national mine action strategy.[17] It is chaired by the Minister of State (a member of the cabinet), and brings together representatives of seven concerned ministries. The government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi was driven from power in Yemen in February 2015 and moved to Saudi Arabia where he stayed for many months, putting into doubt mine action institutional arrangements.

YEMAC was established in Sanaa in January 1999 as NMAC’s implementing body with responsibility for coordinating mine action in the country.[18] It is supported by a Regional Executive Mine Action Branch (REMAB) and a National Training Center in Aden, also set up in 1999, and a REMAB in al-Mukalla (Hadramout governorate) that was added in March 2004. REMABs are responsible for field implementation of the national mine action plan. YEMAC opened a branch in Saada in April 2016.

With the upsurge of conflict in 2014, YEMAC became, de facto, two organizations, split between the southern city of Aden controlled by the Saudi-led coalition and Yemen’s internationally recognized but exiled government, and the capital Sanaa, under the control of the Houthi. The Sanaa office coordinates operations in the north and center of the country and the Aden office oversees operations in southern provinces.[19]

The UNDP deployed an international adviser to YEMAC at the end of 2014 to support planning and program management and in 2016 added a second international staff member as well as recruiting national staff in Aden, Saada, and Sanaa.[20] The UNDP planned to add another international technical adviser before the end of 2017, to be based in Aden.[21]

The UNDP embarked on a new four-year project to run from 1 July 2017 until 30 June 2020, seeking four main outcomes:[22]

• Mine and UXO contamination would be mapped and impact assessed nationwide using primary and secondary resources.
• Non-technical and technical survey is conducted and mines and ERW cleared in the priority areas identified.
• Risk education on the developing threat of mines and UXO is provided to affected communities.
• Assistance to ERW survivors is enhanced with the identification of more implementing partners to support emergency care, rehabilitation, and vocational training.

The UNDP estimated that to operate at full capacity, Yemen’s mine action program needed some US$15 million. Available funding for 2017 was estimated at around $6 million.[23]

Strategic planning

YEMAC does not currently have a strategic plan for clearance but worked with the UNDP on addressing the emergency threat to communities posed by all munitions, including mines, improvised mines, cluster munition remnants, and unexploded aircraft and ground-launched ordnance. The UNDP identified three main goals for emergency operations: preventing the situation from getting any worse; mitigating the impact of existing contamination; and for the longer term addressing Yemen’s Mine Ban Treaty obligations.[24]

Operators

All survey and clearance of mines and ERW are conducted by YEMAC. By the start of 2016, it had some 850 staff, of whom between 350 and 400 were said to be active, under the management of offices in Sanaa and Aden. These included three UXO clearance teams set up at the end of 2015 to focus on contamination in cities.[25] YEMAC recruited 50 more staff in 2016 and at the peak of its activities in November had some 550 deminers engaged in field operations.[26] By mid-2017, YEMAC reportedly had close to 800 active personnel.[27]

Danish Demining Group (DDG) has offices in Sanaa and Aden, and in 2016 provided risk education and explosive ordnance disposal training and equipment for YEMAC, mainly through its Aden office.[28]

Land Release

YEMAC conducted clearance in nine of Yemen’s 21 governorates in 2016, clearing 3km² in what the UNDP called a “quantum leap” from the previous year, when teams were able to conduct only very limited emergency spot clearance.[29] The acceleration appears to have continued in the first half of 2017 when YEMAC reportedly cleared 2.9km².[30]

Survey in 2016

Continuous conflict in Yemen since March 2015 has prevented systematic survey. The UNDP was working with Handicap International and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) in 2017 on a rapid survey of contamination and impact based largely on open sources.[31] YEMAC said it planned to re-survey 18 governorates over three years to 2020.[32]

Clearance in 2016

Of the 3km² of clearance in2016 most occurred in Sanaa governorate (1.3km²) though the vast majority of mines were destroyed in the south. YEMAC reportedly destroyed 189,037 items of explosive ordnance in 2016, including 16,440 antipersonnel mines, 1,048 improvised devices, and 16,750 antivehicle mines. Aden governorate alone accounted for the destruction of 16,198 antipersonnel mines and 9,476 antivehicle mines. Substantial numbers of antivehicle mines were also cleared in Hadramaut (4,779), Lahej (1,692), and Taiz (934).[33]

The UNDP reported that YEMAC cleared 2,196 unexploded submunitions.[34] Progress is hampered by lack of equipment or training in cluster munitions clearance. YEMAC reported that in areas where weather conditions have resulted in submunitions becoming covered with sand, its teams are conducting cluster munition clearance using mine detectors. Demolitions are carried out placing cleared items inside old vehicle tires and setting fire to them. The UNDP planned to bring in thermite torches as a safe alternative to explosives. YEMAC reported that bringing the torches into the country was blocked by Saudi coalition screening, and the items were being held in storage in Djibouti.[35]

In the first half of 2017, nearly 70% of the area cleared was in four governorates, including Sanaa (0.75km²), Hajjah (0.5km²), Saada (0.43km²), and Aden (0.34km²). YEMAC cleared 334 antipersonnel mines and 1,373 antivehicle mines, most in the highly conflicted governorate of Taiz (255 antipersonnel mines and 1,099 antivehicle mines).[36]

Safety

Three YEMAC deminers died in April 2016 when working on submunition clearance in Hajjah governorate. The precise cause of the detonation has not been confirmed.[37]

Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 Compliance

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the five-year extension granted in 2014), Yemen is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2020. This is Yemen’s second extension to its Article 5 deadline and it is not on track to meet this new deadline.

In an update to its extension request submitted in 2016, Yemen underscored the challenges posed by continuing hostilities, and the lack of adequate or multi-year funding for its operations. It said: “When there is a cessation to hostilities and YEMAC has greater access to the contaminated areas, a more accurate plan will be developed with greater accuracy in determining the end date.”[38]

The Monitor acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review (www.mineactionreview.org), which has conducted the mine action research in 2017, including on survey and clearance, and shared all its resulting landmine and cluster munition reports with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.