ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to the Yemeni government on Friday detonated about 1,500 landmines left by the Houthi rebels in the country's western coastal areas, a security official told Xinhua.
"The detonated mines were dismantled by explosives experts from several residential areas in the country's western coast city of Hodeidah," the security official said on condition of anonymity.
The explosives experts' efforts to dismantle the Houthi-laid landmines are financed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, he added.
The Houthi fighters had planted thousands of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) before their withdrawal from areas along the western coast, according to Yemeni government officials.
Previous reports by humanitarian organizations said Yemen has become one of the largest landmine battlefields in the world since World War II.
