Reignition of Conflict in Yemen Threatens New Landmine Crisis

Aden, Yemen – Renewed fighting in Yemen, including intensified Houthi attacks around the frontline city of Taiz, risks a severe spike in landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties among communities already facing mass displacement, chronic hunger and spiralling child malnutrition, warns the landmine charity The HALO Trust.

Yemen ranks as one of the world's worst countries affected by explosive remnants of war, with the third-highest number of landmine casualties over the past decade. Ballistic missiles, rockets and mortars are all common sights in heavily populated urban centres. 

The toll on children is particularly severe.

In 2024, landmines and UXOs caused 260 civilian casualties, including 44 child fatalities. Children frequently encounter lethal hazards during daily activities such as farming and herding livestock, or by mistaking explosives for toys. 

Rising dramatically from the slopes of Jabal Sabir, 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. 

“HALO has been operating in Yemen for seven years, despite enormous shortfalls in funding. 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,” warned Mara van der Kamp, HALO Yemen Country Director.

“We have seen in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq how renewed fighting rapidly increases injuries caused by explosive debris. Yemeni families are already facing hunger, displacement and a failing health system under enormous pressure - they should not also have to fear that the streets around their homes, their farmland or their children’s school may be hiding an unexploded bomb.

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

The renewed fighting has caused HALO to relocate some staff and all equipment from Taiz and Mocha on the west coast to Aden. 

All HALO demining operations in Aden, Taiz and Mocha are currently paused and the organisation is for planning for the deployment of new teams in Lahj and Ad Dhale, using urban clearance techniques developed across the Middle East to safely remove explosive hazards from damaged buildings and rubble.

More on our work in Yemen

• The UN's 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan estimates that 22.3 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 18.3 million facing acute food insecurity. More than 2.2 million children under five are acutely malnourished, including more than 516,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 

• HALO has worked in Yemen since 2019, starting in Aden, and beginning operations in Taiz in late 2022, with around 70 staff working across Aden, Taiz and Ad Dhale. 

• Since 2019, HALO Yemen has made more than two million square metres of land safe, destroyed over 114 tonnes of explosives, and provided explosive-ordnance safety training to more than 58,000 people. 

• HALO's Yemen programme is delivered in partnership with YEMAC. 

• HALO trains and employs Yemeni staff in specialist mine-action roles. 

About The HALO Trust

• The HALO Trust is the world's largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation.

• HALO works in 30+ countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Colombia, Angola and Sri Lanka.

• We deploy groundbreaking technology in conflict and post-conflict settings to help people rebuild their homes, restore their livelihoods and keep their children safe.

• HALO also runs programmes in weapons and ammunition management and safety training. During emergencies, we also provide humanitarian aid and logistical support.

• HALO was founded in 1988 in Afghanistan.

• We employ over 8,000 staff worldwide and recruit 95% of them locally.