Casualties from landmine/UXO in Cambodia down 42 pct in H1: report
FILE: A Cambodian deminer from the Cambodia Self Help Demining (CSHD) probes for mines after being detected with metal detectors in the field at the Training and Mine Unexploded Ordnance Clearance Center (TMCC) in Oudong on November 27, 2011 (AFP)
- Xinhua
- June 26, 2020 7:11 AM
PHNOM PENH-- Cambodia reported 36 landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties in the first half of 2020, down 42 percent compared with 62 over the same period last year, said an official report on Thursday.
During the January-June period this year, nine people were killed, down from 11 deaths over the same period last year, said the report released by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).
It added that 27 others were either injured or limps amputated during the period this year, down from 51 over the same period last year.
Regional and internal conflicts from the 1960s to late 1998 had left Cambodia as one of the most mine and explosive remnants of war affected countries in the world. An estimated 4 to 6 million landmines and other munitions were left over from the almost three decades of conflicts.
According to the report, from 1979 to June 2020, landmine and UXO explosions had killed 19,789 people and either injured or amputated 45,102 others.
CMAA's First Vice President Ly Thuch has said that the Southeast Asian nation is committed to clearing all types of landmines and UXOs in the kingdom by 2025 and to achieve this, it is seeking a total budget of 377 million U.S. dollars from development partners.
