Mr. Heng Ratana, Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Center, said today, August 13, that the mine clearance force discovered more than 2,000 explosives inside the campus of a high school in Kratie province, according to AFP.
Heng Ratana said the explosives were found after the school cleared land to expand a garden. "The school has been temporarily closed," Heng Ratana said.
Images show rows of unexploded ordnance dug up, rusted and stacked. “It was a great stroke of luck for the students. These explosives can easily explode if someone digs them up,” said Mr Heng Ratana.
Unexploded ordnance found at a high school in Cambodia's Kratie province recently
Captured from Khmer Times clip
The site was a military outpost during the war, and a clean-up operation in the area could uncover more, Heng Ratana said.
Decades after the devastating conflict and US bombing campaign that began in the 1960s, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily bombed and mined countries in the world , according to AFP.
The impact of the US bombing campaign and remaining minefields has long been tragically felt, with some 20,000 Cambodians killed over the past four decades after stepping on mines or bombs.
Demining work continues in Cambodia to this day, with the government pledging to clear all landmines and unexploded ordnance by 2025, according to AFP.
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