Cambodia reports fewer landmine victims

Demining in Cambodia. Photo: Peter Dudley

Cambodian authorities are reporting fewer landmine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in the first 11 months of 2017 compared to the same period last year.

The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority says there were 51 casualties between January and November 2017. This is a decrease of more than 30 per cent from the same reporting period in 2016, which saw 77 casualties.

Of those 51 casualties, 90 per cent were male, 10 per cent were female.

The decline in casualties in Cambodia is welcome news in light of the dramatic spike in casualties reported in the 2017 Landmine Monitor (LM). The LM reported 8,605 landmine/ERW casualties worldwide in calendar year 2016, the highest number recorded since 1999.