MSF Mocha surgical hospital

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.