Début 2018, les combats se sont intensifiés sur la ligne de front entre Taïz et Hodeidah, entre les rebelles Houthis et les forces soutenues par la coalition internationale dirigée, par l’Arabie saoudite et les Émirats arabes unis. Pour empêcher l’avancée des troupes militaires au sol soutenues par la coalition, des milliers de mines et d’engins explosifs improvisés ont été posés par les Houthis dans la région, sur les routes et dans les champs. Premières victimes de cette menace cachée, les civils : tués, amputés ou mutilés à vie.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Defused landmines. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields. Landmines and IEDs are defused by military forces. Local NGOs are in charge of locating these devices.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Mawza downtown. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Mawza downtown. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – A child is sitting near defused rockets. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields. Landmines and IEDs are defused by military forces. Local NGOs are in charge of locating these devices.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – A child is showing three IEDs. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields. Landmines and IEDs are defused by military forces. Local NGOs are in charge of locating these devices.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Two women are walking towards the school of Mawza. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – A child injured by a landmine in Mawza is waiting in the ER of MSF surgical hospital in Mocha. He was injured on 13 December with three other members of his family. Two of them arrived dead at the hospital. He had shrapnels in his brain, arm and on his face. He was referred to Aden to do a CT scan. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – A child injured by a landmine in Mawza is checked by Elma Wong, anaesthetist, in the ER of MSF surgical hospital in Mocha. He was injured on 13 December with three other members of his family. Two of them arrived dead at the hospital. He had shrapnels in his brain, arm and on his face. He was referred to Aden to do a CT scan. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Yemen, Mocha, 9 December 2018 – Ali Hassan, 40, is a driver and a former military. Father of two sons and two daughters, he has been living with his family in Hodeidah for the past 25 years. He was driving a car near Khawkha (Taiz governorate, 60 kms north of Mocha) when a rocket or a mortar hit his vehicle, injuring 6 people and killing 1. Ali has shrapnel in his face and abdomen, he had his left foot amputated. “There is food in Hodeidah, but it’s very expensive. We have regular water shortage and no electricity. A lot of shops are closed inside the city.” Like many people he knows, Ali sent his wife and kids to Sanaa for their safety. “Men are staying in Hodeidah to protect their houses. I am far away from my family but what can I do? It’s better for them to be a safer place. War has changed everything in Hodeidah.”
Yemen, Mocha, 10 December 2018 – Mocha downtown. People walking in Mocha city.
Yemen, Mocha, 10 December 2018 – Mocha downtown. A woman is walking near a non-standard tactical vehicle in Mocha city.
Yemen, Mocha, 8 December 2018 – Portrait of Amarah, 5, and her grand mother Fatma. She was injured by a landmine while playing near her home in Dubba, Mocha district (Taiz governorate). On 1 December, Amarah was playing with four friends (three girls, one boy) around their sheep in a field near Dubba, in the district of Mocha. Amarah saw an object with numbers: when she touched it, the landmine exploded. The explosion injured the four children, killing the boy. Fatma, her grandmother, heard the explosion and rushed towards the field. Amarah was evacuated from the field on the back of a donkey. She was then transferred by car to Mocha military hospital (one hour drive), and referred to MSF surgical hospital in the city. The family knows there are landmines in the area but there’s no sign for specific locations. A lot of people were injured in the past, among them was Amarah’s uncle. Amarah has multiple injuries on the right side of her face, her abdomen, her left leg (open fracture). She underwent multiple injuries, including a laparotomy. “We know there are mines in the area but we don’t exactly know where.”
Yemen, Mocha, 9 December 2018 – Nasser, 14 and his father Mohammed Abdou, come from Mafraq Al Mocha, one-hour drive from Mocha city. On 7 December, Nasser was tending his sheep with his uncle and his cousin, they were planning to go to the mountains. Nasser walked on a landmine located in a field. He and his uncle were injured by the blast. His uncle got shrapnel in his eyes and was transferred to MSF surgical hospital in Mocha, and then referred to MSF Aden trauma hospital. Nasser had multiple injuries, and he had his right foot amputated right after his arrival at the hospital. “There was no more bone, nothing that we could have saved to avoid the amputation” explains Farouk, physiotherapist. Nasser had a previous amputation of his thumb, because of a gunshot, which makes it difficult for him to work with crutches. Mohammed Abdou, Nasser’s father, explains that fighting has intensified this year. As military troops were withdrawing, they planted plenty of landmines near Mafraq Al Mocha and in the area, along the frontlines. MSF is supporting an advanced medical post with stabilization/OPD kits in Mafraq Al Mocha. The residents of the city know some places where there are landmines and where it’s not safe to go. But there’s not enough signs to indicate the presence of landmines in the area, and not enough demining staff. Mohammed Abdou is now afraid to go in the field around Mafraq. On the picture, Nasser is trying to walk with crutches for the first time, with the help of Farouk, physiotherapist.
Yemen, Mocha, 11 December 2018 – Ali (center), 18, comes from a small village in a rural and very poor area near Mawza, a 45 minutes’ drive from Mocha city. Two months ago, he was supposed to meet three friends in a field near his house. As he was late, he started running, and suddenly a landmine exploded. Usually, he is very careful while walking in the field, because he knows landmines were planted in the area when military forces withdrew, a few months ago. There are no specific signs to indicate the presence of landmines in this zone. His right leg was amputated under his knee; he already had a weak left leg because he got polio during his childhood. Since the incident, he is going twice a week to MSF hospital in Mocha to follow physiotherapist sessions with Farouk (left), physiotherapist. From his village, it takes one hour and half to Ali to reach MSF hospital in Mocha.
Yemen, Mawza, 13 December 2018 – Mawza market. Mawza is located in Mocha district, Taiz governorate, a 45 minutes-drive to the east of Mocha city. This is a very poor and rural area, people are depending on their land to eat and to earn money. The area was taken over from Ansar Allah’s control by forces loyal to President Hadi, supported by the Saudi and Emirati-led coalition, in the beginning of 2018. Fighting damaged the fields and thus, the livelihood of the 13,000 inhabitants of Mawza. While military troops were withdrawing, thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED) were planted in the area. Between August and December, MSF teams in Mocha received around 150 people injured by landmines or IED, mainly children playing in the fields.
Voir le long format de Médecins Sans Frontières Yemen, trapped by mines
