Landmine and explosive remnants of war clearance missions are essential to ensuring a safe and prosperous life for the civilian population in Al Hudaydah . Pursuant to Security Council Resolution No. 2643 of 2022, the United Nations Mission in Support of the Hodeidah Agreement ( UNMHA ) was mandated , among other priorities, to supervise mine clearance operations in Hodeidah Governorate . UNMHA is constantly strengthening its support for demining work in Hodeidah; Following an agreement concluded by the mission with the United Nations Development Program in April 2022 , UNMHA brought in a mine action advisor to work in Hodeidah and took important steps to coordinate mine action initiatives throughout the governorate .

Mine clearance procedures file

The impact of landmines and explosive remnants of war on civilians in Hodeidah

In Hodeidah Governorate, the mission recorded 111 casualties as a result of landmines and explosive remnants of war during the year 2021 , with an increase of 289 casualties in 2022 , in other words an increase of 160 percent on an annual basis . Likewise, the number of victims among women and children has increased . Specifically, the number of children who lost their lives increased by more than 100 percent, and the number of children who were injured increased by 150   percent , constituting 30 percent of the total number of civilian casualties .   Registered in 2022.

In 2022 , the Mission in the governorate recorded a total of 394 civilian casualties resulting from ongoing hostilities and mines.

Ground or explosive remnants of war . The number of injuries attributed to incidents of landmines and explosive remnants of war reached 289 , or 73.3 percent of the total recorded injuries . Of these victims, 112 cases were children, and 15 of them were women . In the last six months of 2022 , the Mission received reports of incidents of mines and explosive remnants of war, most of which occurred along the low-lying coastal areas of Hodeidah Governorate .

Many of the recorded incidents are related to agricultural activities, that is, when farmers access their lands for agricultural purposes or when they go out to graze sheep, goats and cattle on pastures . During the long holidays and winter months, there was a significant increase in the number of visitors who arrived in the city of Hodeidah to enjoy the atmosphere on the city’s beaches and get away from the cold climate in the high mountainous areas. These visitors arrived in areas that were closed and inaccessible due to the conflict, without knowing. Some of them are located in dangerous places . Al -Hali and Al-Hawk districts in the city of Hodeidah are two densely populated areas located near the port, which explains the large number of incidents recorded in these two districts, compared to their size .

* Civilian casualty numbers have been reported by multiple sources and have not been independently verified by UNMHA .