Six deminers die in blast in southwestern Yemen

<p>By Rabi Ebu Zamil</p> <p>RIYADH (AA) – At least six mine clearance experts were killed Thursday when an explosion rocked an arms depot in southwestern Yemen, according to their employer.</p> <p>The experts, who were working for the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM) in Yemen, were killed in an accidental blast at a warehouse in the port city of Mocha housing mines and other explosives that had been defused.</p> <p> The explosion occurred while mines were being collected for destruction.</p> <p>One person working as a driver was also seriously injured.</p> <p> The Yemeni government and its allies accuse Houthi rebels of planting thousands of landmines across the impoverished country. </p> <p>MASAM said it has managed to defuse more than 37,000 landmines.</p> <p>Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.</p> *Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev