A swathe of Battamabang province’s Kamrieng distirct spanning 27sq km has been cleared of landmines, with a total of 40,065 anti-personnel mines collected and destroyed as of September, according to the Cambodia Mine Victim Information System (CMVIS) – an entity under the umbrella of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).
CMVIS said a total of 464 anti-tank mines and 5,265 unexploded ordnance (UXO) have also been cleared and destroyed in the same period.
But there remains 58 minefields on over 2sq km of land to be cleared, it noted.
According to the CMAA, from 1979 to October this year, landmines and UXO in the district had caused a total of 573 casualties.
As part of efforts to prevent mine-related incidents, CMAA vice-president Ly Thuch and local authorities on November 2 installed educational banners about the dangers of mines and UXO in O’Da commune.
Thuch noted that in the first 10 months of this year, there were a total of 28 incidents resulting in 35 casualties – a drop of 38 per cent compared to the same period last year when 55 cases were recorded.
CMVIS said that in these first 10 months, they had raised awareness about landmines and UXO to 3,124 people living in high-risk areas. The unit also referred reports of landmines and UXO to authorities, leading to the collection and destruction of 89 rounds of ammunition.
