Pursat Province

Background:

Pursat Province is in southwest Cambodia. Much of the province is
mountainous dense jungle and was a strategic refuge for the infamous
Khmer Rouge. In the ten years following 1979, conflict between occupying
Vietnamese forces and the Khmer Rouge was intense. Land mines designed
to maim and kill were widely used by both sides. The local population
were forced from their homes fled to other parts of Cambodia and across
the border into Thailand.

After Vietnamese forces withdrew in 1989, the Cambodian government and
the Khmer Rouge fought intense battles across the region and again land
mines were frequently used. Fighting engulfed the province, and villages
became military positions that were mined and re-mined again as
territory was gained and then lost.

Gradually the Cambodian government pushed the Khmer Rouge into remote
areas of the province, and in 1997 an agreement was reached and the
Khmer Rouge were integrated into the government's armed forces. With
peace, Cambodians returned to their villages but the resulting casualty
rates from land mines and Unexploded Ordnance was a national tragedy.
Cambodian civilians who tried to clear mines by themselves ended up
losing limbs or their lives.

As more areas became safe to return to from exile, more Cambodians are
returning home. Mine awareness action means that the casualty rates have
dropped dramatically and local people have become aware of the dangerous
areas. However, in many villages the people keep themselves to small
areas of well trodden ground and live in fear that their children or
livestock will be victims of mines or UXO.

MAG is the only de-mining agency working in the area, and its Mine
Action Teams have made a difference, clearing priority areas for those
that need it most. The work is extremely under-funded. More teams are
desperately needed. Before water holes can be drilled and land opened up
to farming, before schools and clinics can be rebuilt, the land mines
must be cleared!