Casualties from mines and unexploded ordnance are on track to outpace last year’s count, according to new government data.
In the first five months of this year, 89 people were either killed or injured by the deadly remnants of war, Cambodian Mine Action Centre director-general Heng Ratana said yesterday. The centre’s tally for the whole of 2013 is 111.
“CMAC will take more measures through strengthening the searches and detonations of . . . unexploded ordnances and advising the villagers more about the mines,” he said.
While he didn’t provide a clear reason for the larger than usual numbers, he said that most of the cases occurred in Battambang and Pailin provinces, which are rife with unexploded ordnance, especially anti-tank mines, and that a majority of victims were labourers.
Cambodia is littered with unearthed ordnance. But not all accidents kill civilians. In May, two Cambodian deminers were killed when an anti-tank mine exploded at their work site in Battambang.
