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Yemeni rebels 'planting mines' as they retreat

One of the storage rooms in Aden where de-mining teams have collected and array of more then a thousand Soviet, home made and U.S. mines. The stock is set to be destroyed by controlled explosion. Iona Craig/IRIN
One of the storage rooms in Aden where de-mining teams have collected an array of mines
In the past few weeks, the momentum in Yemen's civil war has shifted radically. The northern Houthi rebels, who had gained control of the capital Sana'a and had extended their reach all the way to Aden, have suddenly been put on the back foot. They have retreated north from Aden and now look set to lose the central city of Taiz.

Forces loyal to exiled President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as well as southern rebels loosely aligned with him, have benefited from the arrival of troops and supplies from the Saudi Arabian-led coalition of nations supporting Hadi.

As the Houthi fighters, along with renegade military units loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have retreated, they are accused of leaving a deadly trail of mines, improvised explosive devices and booby traps in their wake.


See IRIN's photo feature here

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