Some of the deactivated wartime bombs unearthed in Laos in recent years. - Photo: Vientiane Times file
VIENTIANE: Nine people were killed, while 39 others were injured in unexploded ordnance (UXO)-related accidents across the country in the past 10 months, National Assembly members were told on the first day of the three-week parliamentary sitting on Monday (Nov 18).
Addressing the 8th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly’s 9th Legislature, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said the government is working hard to remove unexploded wartime ordnance from farmland and residential areas.
In the first 10 months of this year, UXO was cleared from 5,256 hectares of land, amounting to 70 per cent of the target figure, while the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme was implemented on 1,565 hectares, equalling 21 percent of the target area.
During this period, 25 UXO-related accidents occurred.
The government is also placing a strong emphasis on educating local residents about the risks posed by unexploded ordnance, with talks being delivered in 970 villages to a total of 3,292 people, the Prime Minister said.
According to the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO Mine Action Sector in Laos, the government aims to clear unexploded ordnance from 100,000 hectares of land by 2030 and to survey 250,000 hectares for buried wartime munitions.
The national strategy on unexploded ordnance under the “Safe Path Forward III” plan for 2021-2030 sets a target to clear UXO from 10,000 hectares of land each year.
Unexploded ordnance contaminates many areas of the country and is an obstacle to development, preventing the use of land for agriculture, industry, tourism, and the construction of roads.
Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita.
Throughout the Second Indochina War from 1964-1973, over 2 million tonnes of ordnance were dropped on Laos.
This included over 270 million cluster munitions dropped from American aircraft, leaving an estimated 80 million live bomblets scattered and buried around the country. - Vientiane Times/ANN
