RIYADH: The Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM) in Yemen extracted 19 anti-personnel mines, 112 anti-tank mines, four explosive devices and 273 unexploded ordnance — a total of 408 devices — during the final week of May. A total of 72,276 mines have been extracted since the beginning of the project. An estimated 1.1 million mines have been planted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen over the past three years, claiming hundreds of civilian lives. The project aims to dismantle mines in Yemen to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian supplies are delivered safely. The Houthis are developing anti-vehicle mines and turning them into antipersonnel explosives to terrorize civilians. The vast number of mines continues to pose a threat to the Yemeni people.Ramadan aid programs The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has distributed 370 food baskets in several directorates of Yemen’s Socotra Island, helping 98 families. The center also distributed food baskets and iftar meals in several Yemeni governorates. More than 2,880 iftar meals were distributed to hospital patients, needy and displaced people in Hadhramaut and Dhale governorates. KSRelief also distributed 855 cartons of dates to displaced and poor families in Abyan governorate. Meanwhile, the center also distributed 3,000 food baskets to needy and displaced people in Balkh province, Afghanistan. In Lebanon, the distribution helped more than 250 people from poor and needy families as part of the Ramadan Village Program in Tripoli.FASTFACT According to a UN report, the number of Yemenis in need of help has risen from 14.7 million in 2013 to 24.1 million in 2019, a problem that will cost about $4.2 billion to address. The Kingdom has not only supported Yemen financially, but also hosted more than 2 million Yemenis working in different professions and contributing more than $4 billion annually to Yemen. Recently, KSRelief Supervisor General Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said that Yemen is the primary beneficiary of Saudi humanitarian programs, without discrimination between government or Iran-backed Houthi-controlled territories, Al-Rabeeah said. A total of 345 projects worth $12 billion were launched in the country in the past four years, he added. These focused on humanitarian programs and economic development aid, including support for the Yemen Central Bank.