Old Cambodian landmines 'kill dozens in 2010'

Cambodia's civil war ended in 1998, but millions of mines still litter the country

Tuesday, October 12, 2010
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Landmines left over from decades of civil war in Cambodia are still killing people on a weekly basis, new figures showed on Tuesday.

In the first eight months of 2010, 45 people died because of landmines or other ordnance, according to CMVIS, a data collection body set up by the Cambodian Red Cross and Handicap International.

Another 162 people were injured between January and August of this year, 37 of whom had to have limbs amputated.

The figures are slightly higher compared with the same period in 2009, when 186 casualties were recorded overall.

"Cambodia still has a big problem with ERW (explosive remnants of war)," said CMVIS project manager Chhiv Lim.

Nearly three decades of civil war and a secret US bombing campaign during the Vietnam War have left the impoverished southeast Asian nation as one of the world's most heavily mined countries.

The countryside is still littered with unexploded ordnance, which explains why most of the victims are farmers, Chhiv Lim said.

"They farm near a mine without knowing it, and when the family tries to extend their farm field, then they have a problem," he told AFP.

The total number of mine/ERW casualties recorded between 1979 and August 2010 stands at 63,727, according to CMVIS.