VIENTIANE: Over the past three months, Lao and Russian military bomb disposal experts have removed 285 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from a planned total area of 187,180 square metres in Viengxay district, Huaphan province.
So far, 157,887 square metres of land have been surveyed and cleared of UXO, with 29,395 square metres still remaining.
The figures were reported at the thirrd monthly meeting on Lao-Russia cooperation in clearing and deactivating unexploded ordnance, held on February 15 in Huaphan province.
The clearance operation is being carried out by the International Mine Action Centre of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, together with Lao army personnel.
Speaking at a meeting to summarise the most recent work undertaken, the Head of Russia’s International Mine Action Centre, Lt. Col. Makxim Tkhachev, said that from November 11, 2024, to February 14, 2025, the Russian international mine clearance team had cleared 285 explosives, and 11,309 pieces of explosive debris.
These were removed from an administration office construction site, a school, and farmland in Nakai village, Viengxay district.
In addition, 18,367 scraps metal were removed, along with 39 BLU-28 and 1 BLU-24 munitions, and 11 weapons.
During the meeting, Lao and Russian army personnel also discussed the potential for further clearance operations.
The goal of UXO clearance is to give the land back to local people for agricultural and construction purposes, and to prevent casualties and injuries from unexploded devices, especially among children.
Since 2018, the Laos-Russian army UXO clearance operation has surveyed 170 hectares of land and removed more than 2,300 pieces of ordnance.
Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita, with an estimated 80 million unexploded devices still littered across the country, posing a threat to lives and livelihoods, according to the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action Sector in Laos.
These munitions have killed or injured more than 50,000 people since 1964, and continue to claim about 100 victims each year.
The government has set a target to remove all unexploded ordnance by 2030, and has received support from numerous countries and organisations to help fulfil this ambition. - Vientiane Times/ANN
