Cambodia: Deminers remove 50-year-old bomb in K Chhnang

CMAC deminers today removed an unexploded bomb, dropped by American warplanes during the civil war era, weighing more than 200 kilogrammes and which was buried underground for nearly 50 years in Kampong Chhnang province’s Kampong Tralach district. District police Deputy Read More …

Cambodia: CMAC to train 34 new dogs to assist in demining efforts

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) welcomed the birth of 34 new puppies, who are the new generation of canines that will be used to assist the CMAC in its mission to make Cambodia mine-free. CMAC’s Director Heng Ratana announced Read More …

Cambodia: Kep to become first Mine-free province this year

Kep will become the first Cambodian province without mine by this year, according to the provincial administration. A meeting on the preparation of an official ceremony to declare the province’s mine-free status was organised this week. Prum Sopheakmongkul, Secretary General Read More …

In Iraq, the Bitter Legacy of War Still Lies Hidden Underground

Like the neck of a giraffe, a minesweeping vehicle extends a serrated bucket forward and dips its teeth into the blighted earth. It drags the dry soil backward, sifting, before harvesting a jerrycan and gently placing it on the edge Read More …

Vietnam: Resuming Operations After Tet Holiday, RENEW/NPA Teams Safely Destroyed Dozens of Unexploded Ordnance

At a clearance site in Gio Hai Commune, Gio Linh District, RENEW/NPA clearance teams on Tuesday found 31 explosive items, including cluster munitions and other explosive ordnance, most of which was uncovered from a cache. The team later safely destroyed Read More …

Cambodia seeks additional resources to support full demining by 2025

The request was made during the meeting between Senior Minister Ly Thuch, the first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) and Juan Carlos Ruan, director of the ISU-APMBC, held at the CMAA office in Phnom Read More …

Cambodia: CMAC to restart shipwreck and UXO clearance in the Mekong River

A Cambodian Mine Action Center demining team will restart removing underwater UXOs and a shipwreck in the Mekong River in Prey Veng province’s Peam Ro district at the end of this month or next. Heng Ratana, CMAC director general said: Read More …

Cambodia, Norway renew mine clearance cooperation

Cambodia and Norway have reaffirmed mutual commitment for both bilateral and multilateral cooperation, especially on mine clearance sector. The commitment was renewed during a recent meeting between Director General of Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), Heng Ratana, and Head of Read More …

UN demining body explodes landmines in South Sudan

After decades of civil war, landmines and unexploded bombs still contaminate large tracts of South Sudan’s landscape, threatening the lives and livelihoods of its residents. In the village of Gondokoro, a few kilometres from the capital Juba, the United Nations Read More …

Japan is still blowing up unexploded ordnance on Okinawa nearly 77 years after World War II

On Wednesday, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted an underwater detonation of 315 artillery shells, grenades, and bullets, roughly a half-mile offshore at Naha Port’s Shinko Wharf, in Okinawa. The unexploded ordnance was recovered during dredging of Naha Port between Read More …

Afghanistan: Norwegian charities pledge humanitarian assistance during IEA’s visit to Oslo

Representatives of Norwegian charities and organizations met with acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, during his three-day visit to Oslo, and pledged assistance to Afghanistan in various fields, including health and education. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on Read More …

Cambodia: Mekong UXO search off until waters recede in Kandal and Preveng provinces

Officials have requested modern technological equipment to enable them to continue their work of collecting unexploded ordnance (UXO) in sunken warships in the Mekong River in four areas of Kandal and Preveng provinces. Authorities have found many weapons and other Read More …

Cambodia: CMAC discusses training for deminers with Colombian Ambassador

Cambodia Mine Action Centre (CMAC) director-general Heng Ratana had a meeting with Colombian Ambassador Ana Maria Prieto Abad to discuss training demining experts on Friday at CMAC’s office. Ratana said that they discussed a number of remarkable efforts and commitments Read More …

Japan to assist Cambodia to become a landmine-free nation

Japan’s assistance to Cambodia in the decade’s long battle to clear vast areas of landmines in the country would perhaps be close to taking yet another step forward, going by the words of Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hayashi Yoshimasa. Read More …

South Sudan: Floods hampering UNMAS demining work in Jonglei State’s Pigi County

It may look idyllic, but the presence of a minefield is a threat to these villagers in Pigi County. Floods have so far made clearance of the area impossible. Residents in Pigi County, on the Jonglei State side of the Read More …

Beijing clears US bombs before constructing China-Laos railway

Despite ending nearly 50 years ago, US military operations in Laos have left behind a legacy of destruction that still endangers lives today. On Dec 3, 2021, the China-Laos railway opened to traffic, connecting Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province Read More …

Magawa, ‘hero rat’ who sniffed out 71 land mines, dies in retirement

Cambodia’s landmine-sniffing rat Magawa, who found more than 100 landmines and explosives during a five-year career, has died at the age of 8, leaving a lasting legacy of saved lives in the Southeast Asian nation. Magawa, who died over the Read More …

Cambodia: Temple tourist sites are mine clearing priorities

The Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) has cleared more than 40ha of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in two temple areas in Preah Vihear province and continues to do so at the request of the National Authority for Preah Vihear Read More …

First graduation ceremony for 28 female deminers in Sudan

After a month-long training, the first batch of 28 young women graduated in basic humanitarian demining, joining only one other female deminer in Sudan. The successful completion of the training is an unprecedented achievement for both mine action and Sudan Read More …

Mechanical Equipment in IED Clearance: Observations from Iraq

Mechanical equipment has been in the inventory of conventional military forces for the purposes of military engineering—including demining—since the Second World War. The integration of mechanical equipment into UNMAS Iraq clearance activities may have therefore seemed a natural evolution from Read More …