KAMPOT: Cambodia has successfully declared its 12th mine-free province, under the auspices of the Samdech Techo Project for Mine Action (STP-MA).

Kampot was officially declared mine-free at the provincial hall on Thursday morning, 6 April 2023, under the presidency of the Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, Senior Minister Cham Prasidh.

According to the First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), Senior Minister Ly Thuch, 11 other provinces have already been declared mine-free under the STP-MA – Stung Treng, Kep, Prey Veng, Preah Sihanouk, Tbong Khmum, Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Kampong Chhnang, Kandal and Takeo, as well as the capital city, Phnom Penh.

The Senior Minister added that a total of 4,553 anti-personnel landmines, 11 anti-tank mines and 28,872 unexploded ordnance (UXO), across an area of around 25.6 million square meters (or 252 mine fields), have been so far found and destroyed by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), the National Center for Peacekeeping Forces, Mines and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance (NPMEC), and HALO Trust.

As of the first three months of 2023, over 2,500 square km of land has been cleared of landmines and UXOs, about 76% of which can be now used for agricultural activities to contribute to poverty reduction and development.

Cambodia is striving to achieve its goal of a mine-free country by 2025.