Child killed, two injured in mortar round explosion

A mortar round exploded, killing a boy and injuring two other children in Kampong Thom province’s Prasat Balang district’s Sala Visai commune on Friday.

According to Cambodia Mine Action Center (CMAC) director-general Heng Ratana, posting on his Facebook page today, the mortar round exploded was caused by the children playing with the unexploded ordinance(UXO). The children went to care for their cow and found the mortar rounds. They played with them, and then hit them, causing the explosion.

He said that he mourned with the parents, and he called on people to educate their children about the dangers of war weapons, and especially to not touch them, as they are very dangerous. Anyone finding anything of this nature should report them to CMAC, the police force, or local authorities, who will collect and destroy them.

According to CMAC, they have destroyed 15,348 landmines and UXOs in the first four months of this year while CMAC has plans to clear at least 11,300 hectares of land areas of mines in 2021.

Agencies