Cambodia is one of the countries worst affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs). An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions had been left over from three decades of internal conflicts and a U.S. bombing campaign.
According to Yale University, between 1965 and 1973, the United States had dropped some 230,516 bombs on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen wrote in his book titled, “Hun Sen: 10 Years of Cambodia’s Journey, 1979-1989,” that the U.S. bombings on Cambodia caused “tens of thousands of civilian casualties because of this vicious undeclared war.”
According to the government’s latest report, from 1979 to June 2023, landmine and ERW explosions had claimed 19,821 lives and either injured or amputated 45,205 others in Cambodia.