PHNOM PENH, Jul 19 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia reported 40 landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) casualties, in the first half of 2022, up 54 percent, compared with 26, over the same period last year, said an official report, released today.
During the Jan-Jun period this year, 10 people were killed, 23 injured, and seven amputated, said the report of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authorities (CMAA). The victims included 27 men, one woman and 12 children.
According to the report, from 1979 to Jun, 2022, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,818 lives and injured or amputated 45,186 others.
Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by mines and ERWs. An estimated four million to six million landmines and other munitions have been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts, that ended in 1998.
According to Yale University, between 1965 and 1973, the United States dropped some 230,516 bombs, on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.
CMAA First Vice President, Ly Thuch, said, from 1992 to date, the country had cleared 2,410 square km of landmine/ERW contaminated land, destroying over 1.1 million anti-personal mines, more than 26,000 anti-tank mines and almost three million ERWs.
However, the country still needs to clear the remaining 716 square km of land contaminated by mines and ERWs, he added.
Thuch said, throughout Cambodia, around one million people still live in fear, and work in areas contaminated by mines and ERWs, and that the kingdom aims to get rid of landmines and ERWs by 2025.
“To achieve this mine-free goal, we need a budget of at least 90 million U.S. dollars,” he said, at a press conference early this month.– NNN-AKP
