Two children died in the explosion of a grenade buried from the civil war of Cambodia when they played near their home, authorities reported on Sunday. The tragic incident occurred in a remote town of the Northwest Province of Siem Reap, which was once a combat zone between the Cambodian government soldiers and the Khmer Rouge rebels in the 1980s and 1990s.
The deceased boy and girl, who were cousins, were just two years old. According to an investigation report, the two children were playing by digging in the ground and could have hit the grenade with an object, causing the explosion. HENG Ratana, general director of the Cambodian government’s mine center, shared this information with AFP. He explained that one of the minors died at the time of the explosion, while the other died later in the hospital.
Ratana reflected on the ongoing impact of the war, saying, “The war ended and there has been peace for more than 25 years, but the blood of the Cambodian people continues to run through the mines and remnants of the war.” This accident highlights the persistent threat posed by unexploded ordnance in the country.
The incident occurred after Cambodia had to suspend demining operations for several weeks due to a lack of funding. The United States had cut financing, and President Donald Trump had frozen external aid for 90 days. However, the authorities in the Asian country announced that deminers must resume the elimination of unexploded ammunition after the US granted an exemption to continue work in Cambodia.
Cambodia has been heavily affected by decades of war, which began in the 1960s, leaving the country littered with ammunition and weapons. Although the civil war ended in 1998, mines and other unexploded devices have caused over 20,000 deaths since 1979. The country had initially aimed to be mine-free by 2025 but has now postponed this goal by five years due to financing difficulties and the discovery of new mined fields along the border with Thailand.
