August 13, 2023
High School shut after hundreds of unexploded bombs found on grounds
Students got an unexpected holiday when hundreds of unexploded bombs were found on school premises

Mr. Bun Chhi, Principal, stated that the unexploded ordnance was found buried in the grounds of Queen Kosomak High School in Kratie City, Kratie Province, on Saturday morning during scheduled repairs

Mr. Lay Bora, Director of the Department of Education, Youth and Sports of Kratie Province said that the SIMAC had found four types of ammunition, including 250 M79s, 16 DK75s, 17 M48 warheads, 17 B40s and a total of 284 rounds – with more being discovered as officers searched

He has ordered that the students refrain from school for a short time until SIMAC forces find and remove all the ordinance

According to the 5th Mine Action Unit of the 5th Mine Action Unit, the bombs were explosive and could have been fatal, and the site was found like a “war pit”.
Officials said the search operation to remove everything from the site will take about two days to complete.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501341907/ ... n-grounds/

Thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance found buried in ground at Cambodian school
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Updated 4:26 AM GMT-4, August 14, 2023

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian authorities have temporarily closed a high school where thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance from the country’s nearly three decades of civil war have been unearthed.

The ordnance was found at the school in the northeastern province of Kratie after deminers were invited to search for buried landmines on the campus before a new building was constructed, Chheang Heng, the provincial deputy chief for education. More than 1,000 students study at Queen Kossamak high school.

The site was an ammunition warehouse during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s before being turned into a school and all of the ordnance was thought to have been removed, Chheang Heng said.

From Friday through Sunday, 2,116 pieces of ordnance were collected by deminers from the Cambodian Mine Action Center, the government agency’s director general, Heng Ratana, posted on Facebook

They included M79 grenades, FuzeM48 shells and ordnance for the B40 rocket launcher. Photos posted on its Facebook page showed the dirt-covered items placed in a row on the school’s ground.

Heng Ratana said many more pieces of ordnance are believed to still be buried, so the school will be closed for some days while the deminers work to collect the dangerous material.

“I know that this school site used to be a big ammunition warehouse of the Khmer Rouge in late 1970s, but I could not believe that there was a huge amount of ammunition buried underground like this,” Chheang Heng said.

“How many casualties would have happened if this ammunition exploded?” he said.
Article and photos: https://apnews.com/article/cambodia-une ... 9c87718f5f

UPDATE
All Clear!

Cambodia News, (Kratie Province): HE Heng Ratana, Royal Government Delegate in charge of CMAC Director General and CMAC Unit Leaders inspected the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Queen Kosomak High School, in Kratie City, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023.


According to witnesses who have seen and lived near the school, during the era of the Khmer Rouge (1975-early 1979) the location of Queen Kosomak High School was a Khmer Rouge stronghold. After January 7, 1979, this location continued to be used as an army fort until 1987, when the former barracks was handed over to the Kratie provincial authorities for use as a school.

It should be noted that the CMAC operational force found more than 2,100 unexploded ordnance of all kinds, all of which were safely destroyed. According to the information received and the location markers, there were 5 pits which were scattered all over the campus.


CMAC has deployed their demining teams to complete the clearance of munitions as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the children and their speedy return to school.
- CEN
More photos: https://cen.com.kh/archives/686353.html

Kratie High School reopens after CMAC clear UXOs
Chea Sokny | Publication date 20 August 2023 | 21:34 ICT
The Queen Kosomak High School in Kratie province is welcoming students back after a significant mine clearance operation. Teams from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) finished removing unexploded ordnance (UXO) and wartime remnants from the school grounds.

Buried beneath the school in Trapeang Pring village, the UXO posed a lingering threat.

On August 20, after the clearance was complete, Heng Ratana, director-general of CMAC, confirmed the munitions would be taken away for destruction.

“Teachers, students, and residents in Kratie town, please send your children to school as usual on August 21,” he urged in a social media post.

The announcement revealed an astonishing 2,286 munitions were found at the school.

Historically, the Queen Kosomak High School dates back to the era of Sangkum Reastr Niyum, or the People’s Socialist Community.

However, during the tumultuous years of 1975-1979, it became a military base for the Khmer Rouge. Following January 7, 1979, it remained a base until 1987 when it was returned to Kratie province authorities to function as a school again.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... clear-uxos