The Government of Korea today handed over valuable equipment worth over USD 1million, including 20 vehicles, 10 off-road motorbikes, metal detectors, generators, brush cutters, laptops, and IT equipment for 13 newly established Humanitarian Demining teams of Lao People’s Army (Unit 58).
These assets will bolster Unit 58’s operations on unexploded ordnance (UXO) until 2026 and beyond. Over two million tons of munitions were dropped on Lao PDR during the Second Indochina War (1964-1973). This includes 270 million sub-munitions from cluster bombs, up to 30% of which may have failed to detonate. Already in 2024, there have been 6 UXO accidents, in which 10 persons were injured and 3 persons killed. Moreover, 8 out of these 13 casualties, 61%, were children.
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Source: United Nations Development Programme