Landmines On Chanthauri, Trat, Sa Kaeo Borders

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Landmine Blast Injures 6 Soldiers

UPDATE : 16 June 2011

Six soldiers were injured in a landmine blast near the Thai-Cambodian border in Chanthaburi Province.

Six border patrolmen were rushed to hospital after a landmine that one of them stepped on went off in a cassava field in Chanthaburi's Pong Namron District.

They have been reported in stable condition.

The six were identified as Captain Somneuk Liamthong, Lieutenant Thongchai Meejaiyen, Sergeant Sombat Panyajirapong, Sergeant Somjing Kangha, Sergeant Udomsak Pisetsin and Rangsan Palakawong Na Ayutthaya.

Initial investigation revealed that local farmers found a landmine while harvesting the cassava field and then notified a military bomb squad. On their way, team leader Thongchai accidentally stepped on another buried landmine which went off and injured all the soldiers

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Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC)

The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) was established by NMAC (National Mine Action Committee) in January 2000 to function as the central coordinating agency for all landmine issues and operations in Thailand. The mission of TMAC is to coordinate, monitor and implement mine clearance, landmine / UXO survey, mine awareness and victim assistance throughout Thailand. TMAC is also responsible for establishing a programme to meet Thailand's obligations as a party to the treaty.

The landmine areas are divided into four zones, each of which is under the control of a different mine sweeping unit.

Zone 1: 810,000 square metres in the border area in Sa Kaeo province. Only 362,169 square metres of the zone has been cleared.

Zone 2: 810,000 square metres in the eastern provinces of Trat and Chanthaburi where 511,140 square metres has been cleared.

Zone 3: 1.2 million square metres along the border in Buri Ram, Surin, Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani provinces. Only 355,227 square metres of this area has been cleared.

Zone 4: 810,000 square metres on the Thai-Lao border in Phetchabun, Loei, Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, Nan and Phayao and the Thai-Burmese border in Chiang Rai. TMAC has cleared 322,870 square metres in this zone.

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Some statistics

Last Updated: 18 October 2010

Thailand: Casualties and Victim Assistance

In 2009, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor identified 18 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Thailand. All casualties were injured; 13 were adult men, two were women, and another three casualties were children (two girls and one boy). Four casualties were military personnel and one a police officer. Most mine/ERW casualties occurred in incidents on the Thai-Cambodia border (12).[1] The 2009 total represented a decrease from the 26 mine/ERW casualties identified in 2008.[2] However as in past years, reporting was not comprehensive and thus trends can not be considered conclusive. The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) reported 13 of the casualties in 2009 and 18 for 2009.

The most comprehensive casualty data collection for Thailand, including casualties both killed and injured, remains the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS), which identified at least 3,468 casualties to May 2001 (1,497 people killed and 1,971 injured).[3] From June 1998 to the end of 2009, Landmine Monitor recorded 573 casualties in Thailand: 26 killed, 187 injured, and 360 of unknown status.[4]