PHNOM PENH, June 23 (Bernama) -- A total of 20 people were killed and 76 injured in landmine incidents in the first five months of 2012, Xinhua news agency reported.
A report from the Cambodian Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Victim Information System said the worst tragedy occurred on Feb. 3 when an anti-tank mine exploded and killed eight people in Banteay Meanchey province located some 400 kilometres northwest of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.
The report said landmines took the lives of 19,639 people and injured another 44,474 between 1979 and May 2012.
Cambodia is suffering from the impact of landmines as the results of nearly three decades of war and internal conflicts from the mid 1960s until the end of 1998.
Provinces with the highest landmines are Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Pailin and Preah Vihear.
The country needs an estimated US$30 million a year to completely wipe out land mines by 2020.
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