A wife of Cambodian de-miner weeps before her husband get on the plan to Sudan at Cambodias Military Air Force Base outside Phnom Penh on Saturday, April 15, 2006. 109 Cambodian soldiers will depart for Sudan to participate in a year long mine-clearing operation. A total of 135 Cambodian soldiers will be deployed in Sudan in the first-ever overseas mission under the U.N. flag. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A Cambodian woman, right, holds her sons face, center, before he get on the plan to Sudan at Cambodias Military Air Force Base outside Phnom Penh on Saturday, April 15, 2006. 109 Cambodian soldiers have left for Sudan to participate in a year long mine-clearing operation. A total of 135 Cambodian soldiers will be deployed in Sudan in the first-ever overseas mission under the U.N. flag. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)Weekend • April 15, 2006
Cambodian soldiers hope demining experience can help Sudan
Cambodian soldiers heading to Sudan for a UN-backed landmine clearing operation have said they hoped they could use their experience recovering from civil war to help the war-torn Sudanese.
"I feel very proud that our country, which just got out of the war, can help others", said police warrant officer Som Chantha, 40, one of around 100 soldiers attending a farewell ceremony Saturday.
"I hope I can do good work in mine clearing for our nation."
The Cambodians, whose heavily-mined country is slowly emerging from three decades of civil war that ended in 1998, are expected to leave for the northeast African nation around 8:00 pm (1300 GMT) Saturday.
There is no accurate data available on the number of landmine victims in Sudan, but the United Nations has reported some 1,800 people have been killed or injured over the past five years.
Separately, in a letter to the soldiers seen by journalists Saturday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said it was an "honour" for the deminers to serve.
He again attacked the United Nations, repeating public comments he made Wednesday blaming UN peacekeepers for bringing a host of ills to his country during their presence in the 1990s.
Hun Sen urged the Cambodians not to abuse Sudan's sovereignty.
"We are not invading soldiers and not colonial soldiers, but we are soldiers for peacekeeping who have to respect the independence and sovereignty of that country," the letter, dated Wednesday, said.
According to UN estimates, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are killed or disabled by landmines and unexploded ordnance around the world each year. Some 20 percent are children. — AFP
"I feel very proud that our country, which just got out of the war, can help others", said police warrant officer Som Chantha, 40, one of around 100 soldiers attending a farewell ceremony Saturday.
"I hope I can do good work in mine clearing for our nation."
The Cambodians, whose heavily-mined country is slowly emerging from three decades of civil war that ended in 1998, are expected to leave for the northeast African nation around 8:00 pm (1300 GMT) Saturday.
There is no accurate data available on the number of landmine victims in Sudan, but the United Nations has reported some 1,800 people have been killed or injured over the past five years.
Separately, in a letter to the soldiers seen by journalists Saturday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said it was an "honour" for the deminers to serve.
He again attacked the United Nations, repeating public comments he made Wednesday blaming UN peacekeepers for bringing a host of ills to his country during their presence in the 1990s.
Hun Sen urged the Cambodians not to abuse Sudan's sovereignty.
"We are not invading soldiers and not colonial soldiers, but we are soldiers for peacekeeping who have to respect the independence and sovereignty of that country," the letter, dated Wednesday, said.
According to UN estimates, between 15,000 and 20,000 people are killed or disabled by landmines and unexploded ordnance around the world each year. Some 20 percent are children. — AFP
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