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PRESS RELEASE | London 19 April, 2024

Six months since the first attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, The HALO Trust is calling for a renewed focus on humanitarian development and peace efforts in Yemen, as its civilian population continue to endure one of the worst landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) crises in the world.

鈥淲ith the eyes of the world on the Middle East, it is imperative that we don't forget the ordinary Yemeni men, women, and children living day-to-day in severe humanitarian need, and the dangers posed by unexploded weapons near their homes and communities,鈥� says Matt Smith, Head of Region for Middle East & North Africa.

Most of HALO鈥檚 work in Yemen is in crowded and complex urban environments and close to active frontlines and former battlefields, meaning it requires different skills and greater community liaison compared with clearance in rural areas.

Since 2019, HALO Yemen has been clearing mines and other explosives in the frontline in Taiz, a city divided by battle lines between the north and south of the country for the last nine years.

鈥淒espite airstrikes under 20km away, and daily exchanges of fire across frontlines in the city, our teams haven't stopped working in the last six months,鈥� says Smith.

As the only international NGO doing this work in Taiz city, HALO teams have responded to more than 100 call-outs to remove or destroy various dangerous items and has cleared minefields with trained teams and armoured machines, handing safe land back to communities that regularly experience fatal or life-changing accidents.

鈥淚n many places, explosives including mines, rockets, mortars, anti-aircraft rounds and IEDs are found among homes, clinics, schools, and other amenities. These pose a daily threat to Yemeni civilians, particularly children. Many children are injured while they play, or when collecting scrap metal to sell and help feed their families,鈥� says Smith.

So far, HALO demining teams have made two million square metres of land safe in Taiz and Aden - the equivalent of around 280 football pitches - so that people can go to work and markets safely, and children can walk to school and play outside without fear of losing a limb, or worse.

鈥淒uring the 2022 ceasefire, there was a 160% increase in UXO and mine accidents as people tried to return to their homes in Taiz, illustrating that mine action activities will need to play an integral part in the peace process for peacebuilding efforts to be successful. Urban recovery and reconstruction will also be hampered if the amount of explosive ordnance present in urban areas across Yemen isn鈥檛 addressed,鈥� Smith adds.

鈥淐learance of 澳门六合彩官方网址 and explosives is needed on key roads along frontlines proposed for re-opening under a UN-brokered truce. HALO works closely with the Office of the Special Envoy (OSESGY) and other actors to address the complex threat should parties reach an agreement.鈥�

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