By Liam Cochrane
Radio Australia
Experts visiting the Thai-Cambodia border have found almost half the sites they toured were contaminated by unexploded cluster bombs.
Cluster Munitions Coalition (CMC) spokesman Laura Cheeseman told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program that officers from two member organisations visited 12 border sites and found the deadly munitions at five of them.
Cluster munitions are bombs that contain smaller bomblets or fragments and are often accidentally detonated by civilians long after battle.
Thailand has admitted using cluster bombs in a skirmish with the Cambodians.
Ms Cheeseman says neither Cambodia nor Thailand have signed an international convention outlawing use of the weapons. In all, 108 countries have signed.
She says of the inspectors' missions: "What they've seen here is areas that still have unexploded sub-munitions on the ground.
"What we're worried about is civilians returning to these areas, which we understand some have, and basically being at risk from the unexploded sub-munitions that are still active and deadly and could kill and injure further civilians."
Coalition member groups have visited some people injured after the border fighting near the Preah Vihear temple battle site, "including a couple of guys that had been in the hospital who've had their arms blown off".
The Thai ambassador to the UN in Geneva, while reportedly confirming the munitions' use to the CMC, says Thailand used cluster munitions in self-defence when Cambodian forces used heavy rocket fire against civilian targets.
Ms Cheeseman says the coalition wanted Thailand to release information about the bombs it has used, and the locations, so they can be cleared.
"What we hope Cambodia and Thailand will both do in the near future is to join the convention on cluster munitions," she said.
"This will help ensure that no more cluster munitions are used by either of these countries."
2 comments:
Siamese leader actually is not hesitating to kill Cambodian civilians especially the highest Siam's revolutionist leader,he want to see another Cambodian drama bofore his day to be ended any time soon.
These boms are using to kill many Cambodian descriminatly, not only the troop but far beyond that!, because they're thieve nation they don't want to see Khmer living in side Khmer territory where Siamese actually claiming is their belonging, then they dream some how to get controll by force in the future. This is the master mind bihind the used of cluster boms on Cambodian nation.
Down to you! Ah Siam revolutionist yellow shirt leader!!!.
Thai took 2/5 of Khmer empire land,
but Vietnam took 2/5+1/5=3/5 of Khmer land including Cambodia new province of Vietnam.And Viet took Lao as her province.
Khmer people live in a GHOST STATE
called Cambodia.
Cambodia will wipe out like Lao,Khmer Krom,and Champa in the next few Hun Sen terms.
The next Khmer civil war which Khmer have a one way out is through
Thailand again.
Can Khmer get through Lao and Vietnam?No way out.
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