Int’l representatives follows UXO destruction in Xieng Khuang

Xieng Khuang province: More than 14,000 hectares of land in Xieng Khuang province have been freed up for use by UXO clearance teams over the past 27 years, with almost 7,000 people in the area falling victim to unexploded ordnance.

This was the message imparted to visiting ambassadors, development partners and donor representatives when they visited the province this week.
The visit was led by Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Padeumphone Sonthany, and Director General of the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for UXO/Mine Action Sector under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Chomyaeng Phengthongsawath.
The Governor of Xieng Khuang province, Mr Bounchanh Sivongphanh, told the visitors that 6,997 people had been injured or killed in UXO-related accidents in past decades and that 62,191 hectares of land had been contaminated by UXO.
Some 14,148 hectares of land have now been restored to normal use, of which 12,315 hectares are agricultural land and 1,833 hectares are being used for various forms of development.
Mr Bounchanh thanked development partners and donors for their support for UXO clearance in Xieng Khuang, saying this gave local people the chance to live a normal life and contribute to social and economic development in the province.
An estimated 20,000 people survived out of more than 50,000 who were killed or injured between 1964 and 2008, according to authorities.
Based on data recorded in the NRA Dashboard, Xieng Khuang has recorded the highest rate of UXO accidents in Laos, with 206 accidents occurring between 2008 and 2018, resulting in 292 casualties.
This has inflicted immense psychological strain on families and communities, while also creating urgent medical needs for those who survive accidents.
Xieng Khuang is thought to be the second most contaminated province in Laos, although a full survey of UXO contamination will not be finalised until the end of this year.
The province was the site of extensive land battles in the 1960s and 1970s. As one of the two main theatres in the war the other being the so-called Ho Chi Minh trail in the south of Laos – Xieng Khuang’s strategically important Plain of Jars was subjected to hundreds of thousands of bombing raids, leaving the area not only destroyed, but also littered with large numbers of unexploded bombs, including hundreds of thousands of cluster sub-munitions.

By Phomphong Laoin
(Latest Update April 2, 2021)