Yemenis fleeing renewed fighting at risk from unexploded landmines and bombs

People fleeing Houthi attacks near Taiz, Yemen are at grave risk from unexploded bombs and landmines as fighting in the region intensifies.

The renewed attacks come as communities face record numbers of mass displacement, chronic hunger and spiralling child malnutrition.

Yemen ranks as one of the countries most affected by explosive remnants of war, with the third-highest number of landmine casualties over the past decade. Ballistic missiles, rockets and mortars contaminate heavily populated urban centres. 

Children are worst affected. In 2024, landmines and unexploded bombs killed 260 civilians, including 44 children. Many mistake explosives for toys or encounter explosives while walking to school or herding livestock.

Taiz has been at the heart of the civil war in Yemen for more than a decade.

The city has been divided by shifting frontlines since 2015, cutting off the main highway connecting the mountainous city with Aden and disrupting access to essential services such as food and water. 

People at breaking point

HALO has been operating in Yemen for seven years, despite a huge drop in funding. 

Mara van der Kamp, HALO Yemen Country Director, says:

"People were already at breaking point before the war reignited. Our Yemeni teams have spent years clearing deadly remnants of war and helping communities make their homes and neighbourhoods safer.

"But renewed fighting risks creating new contamination on top of an already major problem," she continues.  

"We have seen in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq how renewed fighting rapidly increases injuries caused by explosive debris.

"Mass displacement can push families into areas they do not know are contaminated, compounding the risk of accidents and fatalities," she adds.

HALO has relocated some staff and all equipment from Taiz and Mocha on the west coast to Aden. 

All demining operations in Aden, Taiz and Mocha are currently paused.

New teams should soon be deployed in Lahj and Ad Dhale, using urban clearance techniques developed across the Middle East to safely remove explosive hazards from damaged buildings and rubble.