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Friday, February 21, 2025
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Russia, Laos Clear Over 285 Unexploded Ordnance in Past Three Months

This Week

Over the past three months, Lao and Russian military bomb disposal experts removed 285 UXO items from 157,887 square meters of land that have been surveyed and cleared of  Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in Viengxay district, Houaphanh Province.

Out of a planned area of 187,180 square meters, 29,395 square meters still remain to be cleared of UXO. These explosives were removed from an administration office construction site, a school, and farmland in Nakai village, Viengxay district.

These figures were reported at the 3rd monthly meeting on Lao-Russia cooperation in clearing and deactivating UXO held on 15 February in Houaphanh Province.

In addition, 18,367 scrap metals were removed, along with 39 BLU-28 and 1 BLU-24 munitions and 11 weapons.

Unexploded Ordnance in the agricultural land of local people
Unexploded Ordnance in the agricultural land of local people

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 organizations to help fulfill this ambition.

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