Residents find unexploded ordnance in rice fields, report to Thmor Koul district police
Thursday, 3 November 2022

Cambodia News, (Battambang): On November 2, 2022, villagers found an unexploded ordnance in Nikom Kandal village, Thmor Kol district, Battambang province. A 62-year-old farmer then went to the administrative police station to report that they had found an unexploded ordnance buried in a rice field more than 100 meters north of his village.
Police went to the scene, inspected the unexploded ordnance and cordoned off the area and posted a warning sign nearby. Thmor Koul district authorities then reported the case to the CMAC Mine Action Unit, who will come and destroy it.

On that occasion, the Thmor Koul District Police thanked the people who reported to the authorities in time and called on all local people to be very careful of unexploded ordnance or weapons of any quality. Report immediately to the authorities to avoid eventual accidents due to those weapons exploding.

Inside the painstaking search for five million decaying bombs in Cambodia
By South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford and Yin Soeum in Battambang, Cambodia
Posted 23h ago
On a steep and slippery hillside beside a quiet village in Battambang province in north-west Cambodia, a small team is hard at work clearing land mines from conflicts decades ago.

It is an arduous and painstaking task, with de-miners using detectors to manually map every centimetre of the ground and a range of tools to excavate every signal picked up.

It is exhausting work too, with each person wearing body armour, a helmet, and a thick visor as the hot sun beats down through the trees and the humidity swirls thick in the air.

Red signs featuring a skull and cross bones and the words 'Danger! Mines!' are stuck into the earth in areas that are untested no-go zones – some just centimetres from where the work is underway.

North-west Cambodia was littered with an estimated four to six million land mines after the Vietnamese army ousted the brutal Khmer Rouge in 1979 and during civil conflicts throughout the 80s and 90s.

With the population expanding into once-remote areas, the risk of stumbling across an old unexploded device is a terrifying fact of modern life.

In the first six months of this year there were 40 land mine accidents.

On the minefield, everyone works alone, many metres apart, just in case there is an accidental explosion.

"At first I was very nervous doing this job, but after training I have knowledge and I'm not a novice anymore," minefield leader Oeurn Phors told the ABC.
"I feel very happy to clear mines from the ground, I'm happy to help the community."

Ms Oeurn is one of almost a thousand de-miners who work in Cambodia across different sites for international mine-clearing charity The HALO Trust.
In full: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-05/ ... /101361008

One unexploded ordnance found in Koas Kralor district

Cambodia News, (Battambang Province): According to the information source from the report of the General Commission of the National Police, on November 15, 2022, an unexploded ordnance (UXO) was found and reported the authorities by local people at Phnom Tam, Chhnal Moan village, Chhnal Moan commune, Koas Kralor district, Battambang province.

After receiving the information, the police inspected the site and found one 75mm unexploded bomb; they tied it with a cord and put up a warning sign while waiting for the MAG Mine Action Unit to come and destroy it.

That looks very very recent, still shiny

Cambodia News, (Battambang): On December 6, 2022, according to the report from the authorities, a citizen reported finding one unexploded ordnance near the base of the Golden Road Bridge (also called Dang Tong Bridge), in Rattanak Mondul district, Battambang.

Pok Poun, a 35-year-old man living in Phum Plou Meas, Battambang Province, reported his discovery to the authority of Meas Tha Administrative Police Station of Rattanak Mondul District Police Inspectorate. After receiving this information, the police went to the scene and confirmed that the object was an unexploded ordnance, type DK 82, and they called in the CMAC (Cambodia Mine Action Center) officers to destroy it.

December 30, 2022
Cambodia reports 41 landmine, ERW casualties in 2022, down 7 pct
Cambodia registered 41 landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) casualties in 2022, a decrease of 7 percent from 44 in 2021, according to a report released on Thursday.

Ten people were killed, 24 injured, and seven amputated in 2022, said the report of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).

From 1979 to December 2022, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,818 lives and either injured or amputated 45,187 others, the CMAA said.

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.

According to Yale University, between 1965 and 1973, the United States dropped some 230,516 bombs on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501211335/ ... own-7-pct/

HALO Trust Clears Over 30 Million Square Metres of Contaminated Land in 2022
AKP Phnom Penh, January 04, 2023 --
HALO Trust Cambodia, a non-profit organisation, has been working to eliminate the threat of explosives in Cambodia, clearing more than 30 million square metres of contaminated land and destroying nearly 20,000 anti-personnel mines in 2022.

The figures were shared by the organisation in its New Year message, thanking its operating teams and donors for their tirelessly efforts and generous support.

According to HALO Trust Cambodia, last year, its teams cleared 30,441,106 square metres and destroyed 18,127 anti-personnel mines, 66 anti-tank mines and over 28,000 items of explosive remnants of war (ERW).

The organisation also expressed its gratitude to the government of the U.S., Germany, UK, Switzerland, Ireland and HDR&D for their continued support to its humanitarian life-saving work.
- AKP

Cambodia Optimistic about Achieving Mine-Free Goal Set
AKP Phnom Penh, January 21, 2023 --

Cambodia has reaffirmed the confidence to achieve its goal of mine-free status in 2025 as planned.
The optimism was underlined by H.E. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) in a meeting with Mr. Ethan Rinks, Programme Manager for East Asia and the Pacific at the U.S. Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement here in Phnom Penh on Thursday.

H.E. Ly Thuch expressed his gratitude to the Government of the U.S. for its support for Cambodia's mine action for over 30 years, contributing to saving millions of lives from landmines and explosive remnants of war.
- AKP

Cambodia News (Preah Vihear Province): At 5:45 pm on January 22, 2023, in Sen Rong Roeurng, Preah Vihear province, a tractor driver accidentally plowed over a landmine in a field.

The unidentified driver was seriously injured and was taken to hospital for treatment. The tractor was also heavily damaged.

Cambodia News (Battambang Province): On February 7, 2023, at 7:30 am, in Wat Po pagoda in group 11, Po 1 village, Kear commune, Battambang province, a lone UXO was found by a 76-year-old man, Khat Sokhum.
The authorities were quickly alerted to assure the safety of the community. The UXO was removed successfully by CMAC (Cambodian Mine Action Centre) experts.