On 21st November 2019, Landmine Monitor published the disturbing rise in casualty rates from improvised landmines. Improvised landmines were cited as being responsible for over half of all victims, and nearly double the figure of 2013. However, the terminology being used within humanitarian mine action relating to mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) may also be misleading from an explosive engineering standards perspective. It got me thinking of my own experience during an assurance visit to an IED search and clearance mission in al-Maydan District in 2018, and further reflection throughout 2019 and 2020 as a Governance and Peace Building advisor to the Yemen Conflict. It is hoped that the link below provides a useful narrative to inform donors and implementers of the difference between improvised mines and IEDs – there is a clear distinction, yet IEDs continue to be misunderstood.

https://iexpe.org/journals/march-2020/