Kandal province was declared landmine-free on March 13. KANDAL ADMINISTRATION
Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth reiterated that the clearance of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) remains indispensable work, as he declared Kandal another mine-free province on March 13.
Kandal now joins Phnom Penh and eight provinces – Stung Treng, Kep, Prey Veng, Preah Sihanouk, Tbong Khmum, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng; and Kampong Chhnang – becoming the 10th in the Kingdom’s expanding list of mine-free territories. Kampot is slated to become the 11th, likely in April.
Pornmoniroth, who is also Minister of Economy and Finance, noted that the number of victims in Cambodia has dropped significantly, from 4,320 people in 1996 to 41 in 2022.
“This invaluable work reduces the risks to the public and turns dangerous land into safe places for people to use. Cambodia has transformed from a country that was once the victim of landmines to one which shares its experience of land mine clearance on the international stage,” he said.
“As of December 2022, national and international operators had cleared 2,554sq km of land. These operators located and destroyed 1,153,217 anti-personnel mines, 26,135 anti-tank mines and 3,034,727 ERWs, benefitting more than nine million Khmer people,” he added.
The state bodies involved in mine clearance include the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), National Centre for Peacekeeping Forces (NPMEC) and Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC). Local and international demining organisations include the Cambodia Self-Help Demining (CSHD), HALO Trust, Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and APOPO.
According to CMAC, a total of 9,780,210sqm of land in Kandal province was cleared of 2,873 anti-personnel mines, 49 anti-tank mines and 94,289 other ERWs.
“Just 15 more provinces are threatened by landmines. This year, Cambodia plans to declare eight more provinces mine-free: Takeo, Kampot, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, Kratie, Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri,” he said.
Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), said the Kingdom was one of the first countries in the world to carry out large-scale humanitarian demining and is now internationally recognised as a leading country in the field.
“Cambodia has cleared more of its land than any other nation,” he said.
According to Thuch, the Kingdom has the ambition of clearing an additional 648sq km of land by 2025, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“Once the 2025 demining goal has been achieved, we will turn our attention to the 735sq km of land which is suspected of containing cluster munitions and 593sq km of unexploded ordance [UXO],” he said.
Kandal provincial governor Kong Sophorn said Cambodia was a “small country with big heart”, noting that in 2022, the Kingdom was ranked second in ASEAN for its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions.
“Cambodia dispatched the 12th most troops on blue helmet missions of any nation in the world,” he said.
In Kratie, NPMEC specialists found eight TM-46 anti-tank mines – and a total of more than 200 other UXOs – in Snuol district while conducting mine clearance operations.
NPMEC said on March 12 that the eight heavy soviet-era mines were discovered in a pit in Thnal village of the district’s Svay Chreah commune. A total of 208 anti-personnel mines and UXOs were also uncovered.
“Since February 27, NPMEC demining forces have cleared 570,656sqm of the 1,031,880sqm that have been targeted as phase one of the operation,” it added.
Ly Thuch declared Koh Sdech commune in Koh Kong province mine-free on March 10.
“On January 4, the CMAA deployed NPMEC deminers and cleared eight minefields which cover 1,139,636sqm in Koh Sdech and Prek Khsach communes of the province’s Kiri Sakor district,” he said.
