Cambodia recovers 2,000 pound U.S. aerial bomb from riverbed in capital

[geovalin]

A Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC)’s bomb expert team on Thursday safely removed a war-left unexploded AN-M66 aerial bomb from the Chaktomuk River in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, a mine clearance chief said.

 

CMAC’s director-general Heng Ratana said the U.S.-made bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds and containing roughly 1,000 pounds of explosives, was found when workers were cleaning up the riverbed near the Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel opposite to the Royal Palace. “CMAC bomb experts have closely worked with the Phnom Penh municipal authorities to transport this bomb to a safe area for CMAC’s experts to take further action,” he said.

 

“If it was a case of explosion of this AN-M66 bomb, it could cause huge damages to hotels, houses or even the Royal Palace,” Ratana said. “This is one of good fortune for Cambodians.” It was estimated that between 1965 and 1973, the U.S. dropped about 2.7 million tons of explosives on 113,716 locations in Cambodia.

 

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501070823/cambodia-recovers-2000-pound-u-s-aerial-bomb-from-riverbed-in-capital/

 

[my friend I]

China slams US for leaving unexploded bombs in South-East Asia

thestar.com.my

 

BEIJING (Xinhua): Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian (pic) on Wednesday (May 11) slammed the United States for leaving tens of thousands of tonnes of unexploded bombs in South-East Asian countries.

"During the Vietnam War, the United States used cluster bombs and bio-chemical weapons and committed heinous crimes in South-East Asian countries including Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia," Zhao told a regular press briefing.

 

According to Cambodian media reports, a US-made explosive device weighing almost one tonne and containing more than 500kg of explosives was recently uncovered opposite the Royal Palace in the capital Phnom Penh. In April this year alone, at least five unexploded US aerial bombs were discovered in Cambodia, each weighing more than 200kg.

In response to a question on the topic, Zhao said that the United States released more than 15 million tonnes of bombs, landmines and shells in Vietnam, of which about 80,000 tonnes are unexploded and remain scattered over nearly 20 per cent of the country's territory, which has killed more than 40,000 people and wounded more than 60,000 since the end of the Vietnam War.

 

"In Laos, the US troops dropped 270 million bombs, weighing 2 million tonnes in total, meaning one tonne or 135 bombs for each person in the country," Zhao said.

According to incomplete data from Yale University, from October 1965 to August 1973, the United States dropped 2.7 million tonnes of ordnance on Cambodia, said the spokesperson.

Statistics from the Cambodian government show that from 1979 to 2021, nearly 20,000 people were killed and more than 45,000 people were crippled by unexploded ordnance including landmines.