BATTAMBANG: The First Deputy Chairman of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), Senior Minister Ly Thuch, urges the demining team and stakeholders to work together to achieve the success of a mine-free Cambodia by 2025. He added that the non-technical survey of minefield data and revisit of liberated land use must go hand in hand.

On the occasion of leading donors to inspect the demining operation of the 2nd Unit of the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) on Wednesday, 2 March, in Battambang Province, Senior Minister Ly Thuch said that for Cambodia to be successful in reaching its 2025 goal, the Royal Government has worked hard to mobilize resources and contributions from all stakeholders to run smoothly together.

He stressed that the Mine Authority, as staff of the Royal Government, is continuing its joint efforts and missions with development partners, allies, demining operators, and other stakeholders in support of Cambodia's demining efforts.

The Senior Minister called on development partners and allies to continue to support and participate in stopping the presence of landmines in the Kingdom and rooting for Cambodia's success.

He added, "Cambodia's demining work continues to move forward, and a non-technical survey on minefield data and the revisit on liberated land must go hand in hand to reduce [landmine affected] land area, reduce time, and reduce the cost of cleaning resources.”

In the nearly 30 years of humanitarian demining work in Cambodia, between 1992 and December 2021, Cambodia cleared 2,328 square kilometers of land area, destroying 1,118,810 anti-personnel mines. 25,952 tanks and explosive remnants of war, including 2,983,416 cluster munitions, and directly benefiting 7,732,536 people.