Latest news with #CMAA
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Landmines inside Thai territory newly laid, probe finds
Thailand is now pursuing retaliatory measures against Cambodia after a probe showed the landmines responsible for Wednesday's mine explosion in the Chok Bok border area in Ubon Ratchathani were newly planted, army commander Gen Pana Klaewplodthuk said on Saturday. On Wednesday, a group of soldiers was patrolling in the area when one stepped on a mine, causing an explosion that injured three of them. Gen Pana was speaking after the Second Army Region confirmed Cambodian forces had planted new landmines, possibly more than 100, inside Thai territory. Two formal actions are now underway, said Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, commander of the Second Army Region. A report will be submitted to the Army Operations Centre, and the army will recommend the government instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to file a UN complaint under the 1997 Ottawa Convention, citing Cambodia's violation of the anti-mines convention, he said. Eight recently deployed mines were found in two clusters: three on the surface in one spot, concealed with leaves and spaced about 40cm apart; and five more in another location, spaced 90cm apart, he said. All eight devices were newly manufactured, he said, based on clear markings and lack of plant overgrowth. The discovery was made about 100m to 150m inside Thai territory, prompting immediate mine-clearing actions by the Thai engineer battalion, said Lt Gen Boonsin, warning that more mines, potentially numbering in the hundreds, remain buried in the area. While diplomatic complaints are being prepared, Lt Gen Boonsin said the Second Army Region can respond militarily without awaiting government orders. He dismissed Cambodian allegations suggesting Thai forces planted the mines. "Nobody would rig mines near their own troops," he said. "That area is clearly Thai territory, and the Cambodian leader himself acknowledged the landmines were planted inside Thailand," he said. "It is evident the explosives were laid during the period when we had temporarily withdrawn our patrol forces. We reserve the right to respond decisively and appropriately within the bounds of our sovereignty," he added. Cambodia must bear responsibility, he said, adding Thai troops will continue clearing the border area and reinforcing road access. "Thailand and Cambodia are both signatories to the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines. This is a new and serious development that we must closely monitor, and we must also take greater precautions to protect our troops," he said. "We will act firmly to protect our sovereign territory and personnel dignity," he said. Meanwhile, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) denied claims in Thai media reports alleging Cambodian forces were responsible for planting the landmines. The CMAA expressed deep regret over the incident bur rejected what it described as "baseless" accusations.
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Landmines newly laid, probe finds
Thailand is now pursuing retaliatory measures against Cambodia after a probe showed the landmines responsible for Wednesday's mine explosion in the Chok Bok border area in Ubon Ratchathani were newly planted, army commander Gen Pana Klaewplodthuk said on Saturday. On Wednesday, a group of soldiers was patrolling in the area when one stepped on a mine, causing an explosion that injured three of them. Gen Pana was speaking after the Second Army Region confirmed Cambodian forces had planted new landmines, possibly more than 100, inside Thai territory. Two formal actions are now underway, said Lt Gen Boonsin Padklang, commander of the Second Army Region. A report will be submitted to the Army Operations Centre, and the army will recommend the government instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to file a UN complaint under the 1997 Ottawa Convention, citing Cambodia's violation of the anti-mines convention, he said. Eight recently deployed mines were found in two clusters: three on the surface in one spot, concealed with leaves and spaced about 40cm apart; and five more in another location, spaced 90cm apart, he said. All eight devices were newly manufactured, he said, based on clear markings and lack of plant overgrowth. The discovery was made about 100m to 150m inside Thai territory, prompting immediate mine-clearing actions by the Thai engineer battalion, said Lt Gen Boonsin, warning that more mines, potentially numbering in the hundreds, remain buried in the area. While diplomatic complaints are being prepared, Lt Gen Boonsin said the Second Army Region can respond militarily without awaiting government orders. He dismissed Cambodian allegations suggesting Thai forces planted the mines. "Nobody would rig mines near their own troops," he said. "That area is clearly Thai territory, and the Cambodian leader himself acknowledged the landmines were planted inside Thailand," he said. "It is evident the explosives were laid during the period when we had temporarily withdrawn our patrol forces. We reserve the right to respond decisively and appropriately within the bounds of our sovereignty," he added. Cambodia must bear responsibility, he said, adding Thai troops will continue clearing the border area and reinforcing road access. "Thailand and Cambodia are both signatories to the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines. This is a new and serious development that we must closely monitor, and we must also take greater precautions to protect our troops," he said. "We will act firmly to protect our sovereign territory and personnel dignity," he said. Meanwhile, the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) denied claims in Thai media reports alleging Cambodian forces were responsible for planting the landmines. The CMAA expressed deep regret over the incident bur rejected what it described as "baseless" accusations.
Bangkok Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Bangkok Post
Cambodia denies involvement in landmine blast injuring Thai soldiers
The Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) has firmly denied claims made in Thai media reports alleging that Cambodian forces were responsible for planting landmines that injured three Thai soldiers earlier this week. In a statement released on Friday, the CMAA expressed deep regret over the incident and rejected what it described as 'baseless accusations' that Cambodia had laid new landmines in the Mom Bei area, where the explosion reportedly took place. Several Thai news outlets, including the Bangkok Post, the Nation and Khaosod English, quoted senior Thai officials as saying that three soldiers sustained injuries from landmines on Wednesday at coordinates WA 220 861, as confirmed by the Thai side. The reports alleged that the devices had recently been planted by Cambodian troops, said the CMAA as reported by Khmer Times on Saturday. The CMAA stressed that Cambodia had long suffered from the scourge of landmines and had taken a strong stance against their use. 'Cambodia is a country that has suffered tremendously from landmines and explosive remnants of war. As such, Cambodia strongly condemns and firmly opposes the use, production, and stockpiling of landmines,' the statement read. 'We deeply regret every landmine-related tragedy, regardless of where it occurs or who is affected.' The CMAA underscored Cambodia's longstanding commitment to peace and mine clearance, citing the leadership of former Prime Minister Hun Sen and his successor, Prime Minister Hun Manet. Cambodia is a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction. According to the CMAA, Cambodia has met its international obligations and is widely recognised for its achievements in mine clearance. The Kingdom hosted the 11th Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention and the 5th Review Conference—also known as the Siem Reap-Angkor Summit for a Mine-Free World—in 2024, both of which were considered landmark events. On the incident involving injured Thai soldiers, the CMAA called for any conclusions to be based on clear, verifiable investigations rather than 'speculation or unfounded accusations.' Cambodia remains fully committed to the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding cooperation along the border with Thailand, and to transforming the border into an area of peace, friendship, collaboration and development, according to the statement. The CMAA urged all parties to refrain from making premature or baseless accusations and instead work together to investigate the incident while upholding a spirit of friendship, safety and mutual respect, emphasising that 'the true enemy of all of us is landmines.' On Wednesday, Pvt Thanapat Huiwan stepped on a landmine while his group was patrolling from the Morakot Operations Base to Hill 481 in the Chong Bok area of Nam Yuen district, Ubon Ratchathani province. Chong Bok forms the so-called Emerald Triangle that borders three countries: Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. It was a battlefield between Thai and Vietnamese troops in 1973 when the Vietnamese chased Khmer Rouge soldiers fleeing Cambodia to the Thai border. Thailand and Cambodia held a short exchange of gunfire in the area on May 28 as a simmering border dispute between the two countries boiled over, with tensions remaining high to this day.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Photos of the giant rats leading land mine detection efforts in Cambodia
SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AP) — Rats may send some squealing, but in Cambodia, teams of the not-so-little critters have become indispensable in helping specialists detect land mines that have killed and maimed thousands in the Southeast Asian country. The African giant pouched rats, which can grow up to 45 centimeters (around 18 inches) and weigh up to 1.5 kilograms (more than 3 pounds), are on the front line, making their way nimbly across fields to signal to their handlers when they get a whiff of TNT, used in most land mines and explosive ordnance . 'While working with these rats, I have always found mines and they have never skipped a single one,' said Mott Sreymom, a rat handler at APOPO, a humanitarian demining group that trains and deploys rodent detection teams across the world. 'I really trust these mine detection rats," Mott told The Associated Press while on her lunch break after working on a land mine field in the province of Siem Reap. After three decades of conflict in the previous century, remnants of war littered approximately 4,500 square kilometers (about 1,737 square miles) of Cambodian land, according to a survey by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) in 2004. This affected all 25 Cambodian provinces and nearly half of the country's 14,000 villages. As of 2018, CMAA reported 1,970 square kilometers (760 square miles) remain uncleared. The rats have a keen sense of smell, making them a favorite at APOPO, which also employs land mine-detecting dog teams. 'Dogs and rats are better compared to other animals because they are trainable,' said Alberto Zacarias, a field supervisor of APOPO's technical survey dog teams, adding that they are also friendly and easily learn commands. Since demining officially began in Cambodia in 1992, more than 1.1 million mines have been cleared, as well as approximately 2.9 million other explosive remnants of war, according to a 2022 government demining progress report. And the African giant pouched rats are doing their part. 'We work with them almost daily, so we get closer,' Mott said. 'They are very friendly and they don't move around and get scared. They are like family.'
7 days ago
- General
Photos of the giant rats leading land mine detection efforts in Cambodia
SIEM REAP, Cambodia -- Rats may send some squealing, but in Cambodia, teams of the not-so-little critters have become indispensable in helping specialists detect land mines that have killed and maimed thousands in the Southeast Asian country. The African giant pouched rats, which can grow up to 45 centimeters (around 18 inches) and weigh up to 1.5 kilograms (more than 3 pounds), are on the front line, making their way nimbly across fields to signal to their handlers when they get a whiff of TNT, used in most land mines and explosive ordnance. 'While working with these rats, I have always found mines and they have never skipped a single one,' said Mott Sreymom, a rat handler at APOPO, a humanitarian demining group that trains and deploys rodent detection teams across the world. 'I really trust these mine detection rats," Mott told The Associated Press while on her lunch break after working on a land mine field in the province of Siem Reap. After three decades of conflict in the previous century, remnants of war littered approximately 4,500 square kilometers (about 1,737 square miles) of Cambodian land, according to a survey by the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) in 2004. This affected all 25 Cambodian provinces and nearly half of the country's 14,000 villages. As of 2018, CMAA reported 1,970 square kilometers (760 square miles) remain uncleared. The rats have a keen sense of smell, making them a favorite at APOPO, which also employs land mine-detecting dog teams. 'Dogs and rats are better compared to other animals because they are trainable,' said Alberto Zacarias, a field supervisor of APOPO's technical survey dog teams, adding that they are also friendly and easily learn commands. Since demining officially began in Cambodia in 1992, more than 1.1 million mines have been cleared, as well as approximately 2.9 million other explosive remnants of war, according to a 2022 government demining progress report. And the African giant pouched rats are doing their part. 'We work with them almost daily, so we get closer,' Mott said. 'They are very friendly and they don't move around and get scared. They are like family.'
