Quang Tri strives to be free from war-left bombs and mines
Quang Tri, where bombs and mines have been found in 82% of the area, has the highest rate of war legacy in Vietnam.
Unexploded ordnance (UXO) left by the war has killed more than 3,430 people and injured 5,100 in the province. Quang Tri began international cooperation in dealing with explosive remnants of war in 1995.
One of the UXO incidents happened in the province on Fab. 16, 2022. In this accident, a resident in Cam Nghia commune, Cam Lo district of Quang Tri was killed after he had accidentally stricken a 81mm mortar shell when he had bee digging a hole in his kitchen. According to the Quang Tri Province Mine Action Center (QTMAC), the explosion has been among accidents recorded over the past 5 years.
Next, there were two cases in which local people found UXO in March, 2022 alone. Particularly, one family found some 400 shells of different kinds under the floor of their house when they upgraded it.
Over the past years, Quang Tri has coordinated closely with international organizations, including RENEW or NPA, to safely clear and defuse bombs, mines and explosives, bringing safety to people and facilitating local socio-economic development.
Notably, from December 2021 to March 2022, the NPA/RENEW project deployed two teams to Nhi Ha village, Gio Hai commune, Gio Linh district. The sappers cleared a large area contaminated with landmines and safely destroyed 84 cluster bombs and 109 other kinds of UXO.
Some 27,660 bombs and mines and explosives were detected and safely defused in the province in 2021 alone, according to the provincial authorities.
Over the past 10 years, Quang Tri has finished the clearing of more than 25,000 hectares of land contaminated with UXO; detected and safely disposed over 765,000 bombs, landmines and explosives left by the war. At the same time, the local authorities supported thousands of victims and held public meetings to raise local people’s awareness of the dangers of UXO.
The central province of Quang Tri is striving to become one of the first localities in Vietnam to be completely free from bombs and mines left by the wars by 2025, said Hoang Nam, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee.
To reach the target, the province plans to clear 3,000 hectares of land contaminated with bombs and mines each year on average while continuously calling on central and local governments as well as international organizations to join the local efforts.
The local authorities will also expand UXO prevention education programs to at least 60,000 people while supporting 1,500 victims and families affected by UXO each year. By 2025, all schools in the province will have integrated mine prevention education in their education programs.
Additionally, the province also develops a policy to develop human resources for the work of overcoming the consequences of UXO, build capacity of staff in charge of overcoming UXO.
