SI SAKET, Thailand (Bernama): Thailand has cleared more than 99 per cent of landmines on its side along the Thai-Cambodian border.
Director-General of the Department of Information at the Thai Foreign Ministry, Nikorndej Balankura, said the demining will continue to ensure long-term safety and peace to residents in the area.
"We have the capability. We have already cleared more than 99.5 per cent of landmines on our territory, leaving only 0.5 per cent, which is manageable within our own resources,” he told Bernama in a recent interview.
However, Nikorndej said Thailand would continue to call on Cambodia to cooperate in joint mine clearance efforts.
He said a similar appeal would also be raised through the International Committee on Cooperative Compliance under the Ottawa Convention, adopted by the international community in 1997 to ban the use of such weapons.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister for Interior, Visarn Techateerawat, revealed that since the border conflict began on July 24, there have been 18 fatalities and 39 injuries recorded across seven provinces along the Thai-Cambodian border.
"In total, more than 780,000 people and 260,000 households in Thailand were affected, with over 150,000 individuals evacuated. The conflict has also had long-term, multi-dimensional consequences,” he said.
On July 28, both countries agreed to an unconditional and immediate ceasefire following a special meeting in Putrajaya hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.During the meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed to convene the General Border Committee
