Deminers Find Landmines Embedded in Tree Trunk
CISR
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(The Star) Cambodian deminers discovered three anti-personnel landmines from the civil war embedded in a tree trunk during a clearance operation in Banteay Meanchey province. The landmines, installed with trip wires by soldiers to ambush enemies, had been encased as the tree grew around them.
While not the first instance of finding landmines in trees, it was unusual to find multiple devices this way. The mines were safely removed. Cambodia’s civil war, ending in 1998, left millions of landmines and unexploded ordnance, causing around 20,000 deaths and 40,000 injuries since 1979. The government aims to clear all mines by 2025.
