Amid Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam has emerged as a critical force in combating the devastating legacy of land mines strewn across the country.
The project, an official initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established in 2018 through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), is not just about clearing explosives. It’s about restoring lives, rebuilding trust, and laying the groundwork for Yemen’s recovery.
Yemen, long plagued by instability, spiraled into full-blown civil war in 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels overthrew the internationally recognized government. In 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention to restore the Yemeni government and curb Iranian influence on its doorstep. But alongside that military campaign, the kingdom launched a softer but equally strategic front: humanitarian aid. Project Masam is one of the most visible pillars of that effort.
“Project Masam’s primary mission is to address the catastrophic impacts of land mines and explosive remnants of war left primarily from the recent conflicts,” Project Masam shared with The Jerusalem Post. “These are not relics of the 1990s civil war, but tools of terror laid during the more recent conflict – often by Houthi fighters, and placed deliberately in civilian areas to disrupt daily life and instill fear.”
Yemen’s land mine crisis is unique among modern conflict zones for several reasons. According to Project Masam, “It’s not only the scale – hundreds of thousands of devices – but the indiscriminate and often booby-trapped placement of explosives that makes Yemen’s minefields especially lethal.”
Mines have been found in schoolyards, water wells, markets, and even within family homes. “We’ve seen explosives hidden in children’s toys, kitchen appliances, even beneath prayer mats. There’s no line between combatant and civilian in this type of warfare.”
The damage to critical infrastructure is profound. “Minefields make it impossible to rebuild hospitals, to access food and water, to move medical supplies. In many areas, humanitarian aid cannot reach those in need, because the roads are mined or suspected to be.”
The impact is not just human – it’s developmental. Mines prevent humanitarian access, stall agriculture, halt construction, and destroy infrastructure. “Without mine clearance, there is no rebuilding. You cannot fix a road or reopen a school until the ground is safe. Demining is the first step toward recovery,” the project shared with the Post.
Project Masam partners with local communities
A central pillar of the project’s methodology is a partnership with local communities. Project Masam teams work directly with local authorities, NGOs, and, most crucially, tribal leaders. In a country where central governance is fragmented, tribal alliances hold the key to safe and effective operations.
“Our relationships with tribal leaders are essential,” the project stressed. “These leaders not only guide us through terrain and local sensitivities but actively protect and promote our work.”
This community-centric approach has been particularly transformative in southern Yemen, where mistrust of Saudi Arabia ran deep. Years of armed conflict had frayed relations. But Masam’s boots-on-the-ground commitment has helped repair that. “In many areas, we were the first Saudi presence that wasn’t military. We showed up, we listened, we worked – and slowly the trust came back.”
Project Masam recalled a striking example: “In a remote district of Abyan, a tribal chief initially barred us from entering, fearing a political agenda. But after weeks of dialogue and demonstrations of our work, he not only permitted operations but provided his men as escorts. Today, that district is largely cleared of mines.”
Operationally, the risks remain staggering. Project Masam teams often operate on or near the front lines. Their vehicles are armored. Their suits are heat-resistant. Yet they still face sniper attacks, roadside bombs, and shifting lines of control. “There’s no day we don’t assess threats. We’ve lost brave men in this mission. But for every life we’ve mourned, hundreds have been saved.”
How does Masam decide where to go first? The answer lies in a structured but community-driven framework. “We prioritize clearance based on three factors: civilian threat level, humanitarian accessibility, and economic importance, such as farmland or market routes. But we also listen: community requests weigh heavily.”
Not all obstacles are military. Local suspicion or misinformation can pose serious delays. In one case in Hajjah, villagers believed clearance work would expose them to spirits disturbed by the conflict. “We had to work with local imams and elders to build trust, hold educational sessions, and even clear a path to the village mosque to win hearts. It worked.”
The distinction between anti-tank and antipersonnel mines also demands different tools and tactics. “Anti-tank mines are larger, but often easier to detect. Antipersonnel mines are small, often plastic, and devastating to civilians. Some explode on pressure, others when disturbed. It’s not one science – it’s many.”
Masam’s numbers speak for themselves. As of early 2025, the project had cleared more than 425,000 explosive devices, including over 7,000 improvised devices and thousands of antipersonnel and anti-tank mines. Areas like Marib, Shabwa, and Taiz have seen dramatic turnarounds, with farmland, roads, and schools reactivated.
But statistics only tell part of the story. Masam shared a particularly moving case: “In Al-Jawf, a teenage girl had been injured stepping on a mine outside her school. Her father pleaded with us to clear the surrounding area so her younger siblings could return to class. We finished the job in four days. The family came out crying, hugging our team. They hadn’t known safety in years.”
Planting the seeds of future self-reliance
Beyond physical clearance, Project Masam is planting the seeds of future self-reliance.
“We don’t just work and leave,” the team explained. “We train. We teach. We build local teams who will carry this work forward.”
Masam has trained hundreds of Yemenis, equipping them with both technical skills and international-standard safety protocols.
Training is rigorous. It includes mine detection, manual clearance techniques, the use of protective gear, and emergency first response.
“We invest heavily in local talent,” said a team leader. “Some of our best supervisors today started as trainees in 2019. That’s the legacy we’re building.”
'Mine action in Yemen is underfunded'
The initiative’s funding comes primarily from KSrelief, the Saudi state’s humanitarian arm. “But our work wouldn’t be possible without international partnerships,” the project noted. Masam coordinates with UNMAS and other mine action actors, though it calls on the global community to do more. “Mine action in Yemen is underfunded. We need more equipment, more training, more public awareness campaigns.”
Project Masam also highlighted the need for psychological support for mine survivors. “It’s not just physical wounds. Children and adults alike live in fear. We hope to expand partnerships that include trauma counseling and survivor reintegration. These people need hope, not just prosthetics.”
Aiming to extend operations
Looking ahead, Project Masam aims to expand its clearance footprint and embed long-term sustainability into its operations. The vision is bold: a Yemen where mine clearance is nationally led, technically proficient, and fully resourced. “Our five-year plan includes extending operations into previously unreached territories, increasing national recruitment, and creating a centralized Yemeni mine action agency.”
Ultimately, Project Masam’s mission is about more than removing weapons. It’s about restoring dignity. As the team shared with the Post, “Each mine removed is a life saved. A school reopened. A child who can walk freely again. It’s a quiet kind of peace we’re creating – but it’s peace nonetheless.”
In a country shattered by war and haunted by what lies beneath its soil, Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam continues to uncover a more hopeful future, one explosive at a time.