A senior Lao official has warned that an estimated 80 million unexploded munitions remain buried across Laos, while cuts in international funding could slow clearance work and prolong the threat to civilian lives.
The National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action official Bounpheng Sisavath said more than a million of the deadly remnants had been cleared after decades of efforts to rid Laos of unexploded ordnance (UXO).
“You could say there is still a great deal remaining. Some items are on the surface, while others are buried as deep as five to six metres underground. This makes clearance difficult and requires trained teams and specialised methods, Bounpheng told the Vientiane Times in an interview..
Read more…
Source: The Star News
Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox
Related:
- ASEAN member states in Cambodia visit mine clearing activities in Oddar Meanchey province
April 7, 2024
Ly Thuch, First Vice President of Cambodia Mine Action Authority (CMAA), led a delegation from the Embassy of ASEAN Member States in Cambodia to inspect the demining activities of Halo Trust in Anlong Veng commune, Anlong Veng district, Oddar Meanchey province and also the representatives from the Embassy of Japan in Cambodia and Prince Holding ...
- LAO PDR: Unit 58 receives 20 vehicles and other equipment to support its UXO clearance work
February 28, 2024
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. ...
- UK Government awards over $1 million in funding to MAG’s work in Laos
February 28, 2024
The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has pledged over $1.65 million in funding to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to support ongoing UXO survey, clearance, and explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) activities in Khammouane province. This funding coincides with MAG’s 30th anniversary of UXO operations in Lao PDR and highlights the UK’s long-term ...
- Lao PDR: Opening of Landmine Clearance Quality Management Training for NRA Quality Management staff
February 22, 2024
It is estimated that since the end of the Indochina war, more than 22,000 people have fallen victim to Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in Lao PDR, almost half of whom died. An estimated 46% of casualties were children. Already in 2024, there have been 6 UXO accidents, in which 10 persons were injured and 3 persons killed. Moreover, ...
- Cambodia: CMAA asks Laos to join Ottawa Treaty
February 8, 2024
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) requested Laos at a meeting on Monday to join the other 164 countries attending the Ottawa Convention while Cambodia is chair and hosts the 5th Review Meeting of the organisation. Ly Thuch, Senior Minister and CMAA First Vice-President, met Buakeo Phumvongsay, Laotian Ambassador to Cambodia, at the ...
- US senators submit bill on funding landmine clearance in Indochina
November 9, 2023
Members of the US Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Tammy Baldwin of the Democratic Party from Wisconsin state, and Senator Jerry Moran of the Republican Party from Kansas state, have submitted a bipartisan bill that allocates funding for clearing landmines and other unexploded ordnances left over from the war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the foreseeable ...
- Cambodia, Laos forge closer mine action ties
November 5, 2023
In a bilateral meeting between the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and Laos’ National Regulatory Authority for UXO and Mine Action (NRA), the Lao delegation expressed keen interest in studying the structure and functioning of the Kingdom’s successful mine action sector. This announcement followed a recent meeting between CMAC director-general Heng Ratana and NRA chief Chomyaeng ...
- Laos to carry out project to assist people affected by Agent Orange
November 1, 2023
The National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector (NRA) in Laos agreed to partner with the War Legacies Project, which will see Phase II of a survey on the use of Agent Orange and support for people with birth defects associated with exposure to the chemical dioxin. According to a report issued by the NRA ...
- China helps train international experts in clearing land mines
September 9, 2023
Forty people from the armed forces in Cambodia and Laos completed a three-month training session on mine-clearing skills on Friday. The training, including the use of the latest mine-clearing technologies, will keep mine-clearing forces in their countries safe and enable them to conduct missions more efficiently, officials and teachers said. The training took place from June ...
- Cluster Munitions: New Use, Transfers Challenge Total Ban
September 5, 2023
Civilian harm from new use of cluster munitions and recent transfers of the weapon show the urgent need for all countries to join the international ban on cluster munitions, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing the 96-page global “Cluster Munition Monitor 2023” report. Cluster munitions can be fired from the ground by artillery, rockets, missiles, ...
- Laos: US, Norway provide extra US$20.8 million for UXO clearance
July 20, 2023
The governments of the United States of America and Norway have a continuing long-term commitment to supporting the unexploded ordnance (UXO) sector in Laos, with a combined total of over US$20.8 million committed to Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) to support survey and clearance operations in four southern provinces. Under the MOU, Norwegian People’s Aid will increase ...
- UNODC: Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia – Latest developments and challenges
June 2, 2023
East and Southeast Asia’s drug market has been marked by a decade of growth in the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, particularly methamphetamine – a trend that continues. The region has also experienced an expansion in the production and trafficking of ketamine, and the number of new synthetic drugs appearing is increasing. The situation ...
- Cambodia: Lao delegation on Kingdom visit to discuss mine action
May 2, 2023
A delegation from Laos visited Cambodia and exchanged experiences on mine action and relevant work experiences on management, information gathering, planning and prioritising mine action in the Kingdom. The Lao delegation visited Cambodia in coordination with the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which funds mine-action and mine-clearance activities in both countries. Read more… Source: The Phnom Penh Post
- ‘I don’t want more children to suffer what I did’: the 50-year fight to clear US bombs from Laos
April 27, 2023
Youa Thaiyang is standing at the edge of his field in the northern Laos province of Xieng Khouang. A slight man of 61, dressed in jeans and flip-flops, he’s showing a photo of a BLU-26 submunition to a community liaison officer from bomb clearance charity the Mines Advisory Group (Mag). The rusted, innocuous looking “bombie”, ...
- Laos: Over 1.8 mln unexploded bombs cleared since 1996
April 6, 2023
Over 1.8 million unexploded ordnance (UXO) devices have been cleared from 79,599 hectares of land from 1996 to February 2023, making agricultural land safe for farmers and freeing up other areas for development. The figures were released by Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Padeumphone Sonthany at a press conference in the Lao capital ...
