MGR Online – It's been nearly half a century but leftover bombs left behind by US forces in Laos are still causing chaos. In just the first two weeks of 2024, there were three explosions, killing three people and injuring seven others, including five young children.
A report by the Explosive Remnants Victim Assistance Agency (LT), the National Committee for the Resolution of the Explosive Remnants Problem in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, stated that in just the first two weeks of January 2024, there were incidents of leftover discarded explosives coming into Lao territory since the Indochina War from United States military aircraft, which ended 49 years ago, and at least 3 explosions occurred, killing 3 people and wounding 7 others.
On January 13, 2024, an incident occurred in Ban Na Sat (Khom Son), Thakhek City, Khamuan District, where 4 children found a hand grenade buried in the ground. He ignorantly took it to play with it, and an explosion occurred that led to the immediate death of two children and the injury of two others. The local government organization in Thakhek helped transport the injured child to Khamuan District Hospital for treatment.
Just two days before that, on January 11, a similar incident occurred in Ban Wiang Sai, Phong City, Attapu District, injuring up to five people. The explosion was caused by the five people starting a fire in the basement. Without knowing the underground area at that point there is a dropped bomb that has not yet exploded, buried in the ground. When exposed to the heat of the fire, an explosion occurred.
The five injured people are from one family: 3 men and 2 women, while an 18-year-old girl was seriously injured. There was also a 4-year-old child who was injured.
A week earlier, on January 3, a resident of Ban Son Mee Sai, Sibon City, Savannakhet Province, was hit by a residual explosive device while cleaning his home area. Which caused immediate death
Last January 25, 2024, Lao Phatthana newspaper. There is a 10-year statistical report on the situation of bomb remnants that exploded from 2014 to 2023, indicating that during the past ten years, a total of 240 incidents occurred, in which 91 were killed and 313 injured.
Yesterday (January 27), MAG UXO published statistics stating that of the deaths and injuries caused by landmines in 2023, 26 of them are still young children.
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