ADEN, Yemen, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Pro-government Yemeni forces detonated nearly 600 landmines that were dismantled from different areas in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Tuesday, a military official told Xinhua.
"The experts of the pro-government forces managed to destroy around 600 dismantled landmines and explosive devices that were previously laid by the Houthi rebels in Hodeidah," the official said on condition of anonymity.
He said that most of the landmines and explosive devices were dismantled from areas in Durayhmi district, south of Hodeidah, following the withdrawal of the Houthi rebels.
The source explained that "the mines were laid by the rebels along the main roads and around key residential areas, endangering lives of many civilians living there."
Landmines and explosives of various kinds and sizes are considered a deadly long-standing threat to the lives of millions of Yemenis and have killed and injured hundreds of them, including women and children.
Previous reports of humanitarian organizations suggested that Yemen has become one of the largest landmine battlefields in the world since the World War II.
The Houthi rebels launched a large military campaign and seized the capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing Yemen's President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries intervened militarily and began pounding the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in March 2015 in response to an official public request from Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.
The conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has recently entered its fifth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
