KRATIE: Students returned to a Kratie high school today, a week and a half after over 2,000 unexploded weapons from the Khmer Rouge era were found during renovations.
Director-General of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), Heng Ratana, confirmed that CMAC experts had cleared a total of 2,286 unexploded ordnance from the grounds of Queen Kosomak High School. CMAC completed its mission on August 19 and the weapons, which ranged from grenades to rocket launcher ammunition, were sent away to be safely demolished. He said that the grounds of the high school had previously been used as an army base and that the unexploded ordnance had been buried by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s.
Director Heng Ratana also confirmed that specialized forces cleared four hectares of unexploded ordnance on and around the campus for the safety of the students. Queen Kosomak High School is located in Trapeang Pring Village, about 10 km from the Vietnam border. Cambodia’s borders continue to be plagued by the dangers of unexploded ordnance more than forty years after the Khmer Rouge was ousted from power. Their violent legacy continues to plague Cambodia’s countryside and CMAC has reported over 64,000 victims of landmines since 1979. The government has aspirations of being mine-free by 2025, but it is unclear how many of the estimated five million unexploded landmines remain buried in Cambodian soil.
