PHNOM PENH: Cambodia reported 35 landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) casualties in the first half of 2024, up almost 67 per cent from 21 over the same period last year, a spokesperson said on Friday (July 5).
"Eight people were killed, 21 injured, and six amputated during the January-June period this year," Lang Kosal, a spokesperson for the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), told Xinhua.
He added that the victims were 21 men, nine boys, two women, and three girls.
According to the spokesperson, from 1979 to June 2024, landmine and ERW explosions claimed 19,830 lives and either injured or amputated 45,242 others.
Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by landmines and ERWs. An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998.
Senior Minister Ly Thuch, CMAA's first vice president, said that from 1992 to 2023, Cambodia cleared 3,024 square kilometres of landmine and ERW contaminated land, benefitting about 12 million people, or 70 per cent of the country's total population.
Yet, the kingdom still needs to clear the remaining 533sq km land contaminated with mines and another 1,321-sq-km land contaminated with cluster munitions and other ERWs.
"We must redouble our efforts and accelerate action to achieve the goal of a mine-free 2025," he said in a recent speech. - Bernama-Xinhua
