SANA'A November 06. 2022 (Saba) - The Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) have caused 643 civilian casualties, 219 of which were killed and 424 injured, since the beginning of 2022, the Yemen Executive Mine Action Centre (YEMAC) stated on Sunday.
Statistics showed that 197 children were among the victims, including 43 killed, most of them in Hodeida province, according to a statement issued by YEMAC.
ERW are explosive weapons (bombs, shells, grenades, land mines, cluster munition, and other munitions) that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded.
YEMAC statistics confirmed the ERW killed 18 civilians and injured 28 last October.
The statement pointed out that mines, cluster bombs continue to claim the civilians' lives in Yemen, mostly children and women, in many contaminated provinces and areas.
The center continued, during the past years, especially during the armistice, to contact with all UN and international organizations to provide mine detection devices to be able to clear the contaminated areas. and to reduce the number of civilian victims but to no avail.
The center affirmed that it has not received any response from the United Nations Development Program so far.
It considered the continued refusal to provide the devices woukd obstruct the humanitarian work in the country, deliberately harm the largest number of Yemenis, and ignore the remedial measures required to be taken, whether for the phase of conflict or beyond, as stipulated in the Fifth Protocol annexed to the "Ottawa" Convention.
The statement stressed that the aggression coalition did not take the simplest necessary measures, but rather resorted to excessive bombardment using cluster bombs, rockets and various missiles on populated areas, affirming that all these crimes against civilians are documented.
The Executive Center renewed the call for the United Nations Envoy to Yemen, the Head of the Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and the heads of the humanitarian missions in Yemen to play an effective and urgent role to put pressure on the coalition to allow the entry of the mine-detection devices.
J.A
resource : SABA