Yemeni militias resorted to planting landmines in civilian areas, including houses and public roads, as they were withdrawing from Mareb and Lahj, a report by a human rights watchdog has revealed. The report released by the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations to Human Rights (NCIAVHR) affirmed that the militias had planted over 362 anti-personnel mines, which killed 138 people – 101 men, five women and 32 children – and injured 224 others – 168 men, 19 women and 37 children. The Commission also ended its probe into 211 specific cases of mine blasts that left 573 Yemenis dead or injured. The Commission said that investigations had revealed that the Houthi-Saleh militias were responsible for planting these anti-personnel mines as they continued their systematic violations in all military areas that they control, as well as the territories and roads they have withdrawn from. Demining experts have testified before the Commission that the Houthi militias manufactured anti-personnel mines with local expertise in plants founded by the Houthis and Saleh forces. They used military equipment and assets in the areas that they controlled. The Houthis also distributed and stockpiled these landmines across the country in violation of international treaties that were signed by Yemen. These treaties prohibit the production, stockpiling and use of such landmines. The case of the family of Saleh Mosleh Al-Qutaish was cited as an example of Houthi crimes. When the Houthi militia entered the Marib in Al-Ashraf area where the family lived, they fled to safety. Later when they returned to their house, a landmine exploded killing three of the family members and injuring a girl. A demining expert in the Engineering Division of the Third Military Region testified that the division's experts had cleared hundreds of landmines in the region. The shrapnel found in Al-Qutaish's house revealed that the landmine used was similar to the ones used by the Houthi-Saleh militias when they were controlling the area. Another witness, Nabil Ghaleb, said that as his family was returning to their house in Karsh area in Lahij province, a landmine exploded along the road leading to the Al-Jaribah village from the south. The Houthis and the Saleh forces had booby-trapped most of the roads in the area. According to the Commission's report, Ghaleb was injured in the explosion and had to have his right leg amputated. The explosion also caused severe damage to his left hand and led to several shrapnel wounds, according to medical reports. Awad Marsh Hazaa is another case cited in the report. He was injured in an anti-personnel mine explosion, which led to the amputation of his left leg. Witnesses said he was hospitalized in Marib hospital before being discharged with a disability. Walid Ahmed Nasser also lost a leg in a mine explosion in Wadi Ghol Amer in Al-Zaher directorate, while Mohamed Sheikh Salem was killed in another mine explosion. The report also referred to the case of Amr Salem Abdel-Qawi who was injured in a similar incident. The report pointed out that the emplacement, production and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines is considered a violation criminalized by the international humanitarian law and the relevant international covenants, including the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines. Known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, it was ratified by the Yemeni Republic in 1998.
