Following the end of conflict between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces in 1989 and the collapse of the Khmer Rouge in 1998, northwest Cambodia was packed with millions of landmines. The HALO Trust, whose work during 1991 in Battambang in western Cambodia is documented here, states that Cambodians have experienced over 64,000 injuries resulting in 25,000 amputees caused by landmines and ‘explosive remnants of war’.
A landmine does its job very well – it is designed not to kill but to maim, thereby causing the victim to be a huge and long-term burden on the family and on community resources. The threat of landmines continues to hinder the development of Cambodia.
