2014 Yemen Civil War

OZM-72 in the 2014 Yemen Civil War

Human Rights Watch documented six OZM-72 antipersonnel mines cleared by YEMAC from Bab al-Mandab district in Taizz on September 6, 2016, in a report on Houthi-Saleh landmine use in Yemen.

Weapon profileOZM-72
SideHouthi-aligned forcesRoleArea Denial
OZM-72, Bounding antipersonnel fragmentation mine, Infantry Weapons - 2014 Yemen Civil War
Image source: File:OZM-72.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
YEMAC cleared six OZM-72 antipersonnel mines from Bab al-Mandab district in Taizz on September 6, 2016.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report

The OZM-72 clearance was reported in the context of Houthi-Saleh landmine use and YEMAC work in areas from which those forces had withdrawn.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report

The documented Yemen role is antipersonnel area denial and post-battle mine contamination.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report, Sappers OZM-72 Technical Reference

Timeline

OZM-72 In 2014 Yemen Civil War

  1. YEMAC clears OZM-72 mines in Bab al-Mandab

    Human Rights Watch reported that YEMAC cleared six OZM-72 and five PPM-2 antipersonnel mines from Bab al-Mandab district in Taizz.

    Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Human Rights Watch identified OZM-72 antipersonnel mines in the Yemen war through YEMAC clearance evidence from Taizz governorate. In its April 2017 report on Houthi-Saleh landmine use, HRW published a captioned clearance item stating that YEMAC cleared six OZM-72 mines and five PPM-2 antipersonnel mines from Bab al-Mandab district on September 6, 2016.

The same HRW report placed the clearance within a broader pattern of Houthi-Saleh landmine use after the Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015. HRW reported that Houthi-Saleh forces used landmines in at least six governorates and that YEMAC was clearing areas in Taizz from which those forces had withdrawn.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report

Timeline

The sources support a specific OZM-72 milestone on September 6, 2016, when YEMAC cleared six OZM-72 mines from Bab al-Mandab district in Taizz. HRW later described additional YEMAC clearance in the same district in February 2017, including 770 mines cleared and destroyed, but that later total was reported by mine category rather than by OZM-72 model.

By April 2019, HRW was still reporting widespread Houthi landmine contamination along Yemen's western coast, including Hodeida and Taizz governorates. That reporting supports the continuing mine-action context, but it does not add another model-specific OZM-72 incident.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report, HRW 2019 Western Coast Landmines Report

Narrative

In Yemen, the OZM-72 appears in the record as an emplaced antipersonnel mine and post-battle clearance hazard, not as a transferred system with a documented shipment trail. The reported location, Bab al-Mandab district, sits on the western coast front where coalition-backed forces advanced in late 2016 and early 2017 and where YEMAC worked after Houthi-Saleh withdrawals.

The OZM-72 is a Soviet-designed bounding fragmentation mine. Technical references describe it as a tripwire-operated antipersonnel mine with all-round fragmentation effect, which matches the area-denial role assigned to the Yemen compact row. The Yemen sources do not identify the exact fuze configuration of the six cleared OZM-72 mines.

Sources: HRW 2017 Yemen Landmines Report, Sappers OZM-72 Technical Reference

Related Weapons by Role

MON-50, Directional fragmentation antipersonnel mine, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsMON-50Directional fragmentation antipersonnel mineThe MON-50 is a Soviet directional fragmentation antipersonnel mine broadly comparable in role to the M18 Claymore, with a plastic body, folding legs, and a forward fragmentation pattern. It can be command-detonated or configured with tripwire and other fuzing, making it a compact infantry obstacle and ambush munition. Direct monitoring sources document MON-50 use by Russian or Russian-aligned forces in eastern Ukraine, the full-scale Russia-Ukraine War, and the 2019-2020 Tripoli fighting in Libya.
MON-series anti-personnel mine, Directional fragmentation anti-personnel mine family, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsMON-series anti-personnel mineDirectional fragmentation anti-personnel mine familyThe MON series is a Soviet/Russian family of directional fragmentation anti-personnel mines, including MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200 patterns that project preformed fragments across a defined sector. Monitoring groups identify the family in Russian mine warfare in Ukraine and in Russian-linked Tripoli minefields in Libya, while the Nagorno-Karabakh record is narrower and rests on postwar MON-50 clearance reporting.
MON-90, Directional fragmentation antipersonnel mine, Infantry WeaponsInfantry WeaponsMON-90Directional fragmentation antipersonnel mineThe MON-90 is a Soviet-designed directional fragmentation antipersonnel mine and the 90 m member of the MON family between the smaller MON-50 and larger MON-100. Technical references describe a plastic-bodied, tree-spike-mounted mine with about 2,000 steel fragments, two M-10 threaded fuze wells, and command or tripwire initiation depending on setup. Direct monitoring sources place MON-90 mines in Russian use in Ukraine after the 2022 invasion and in Russian-linked Tripoli mine contamination during the Second Libyan Civil War.
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Sources