A delegation of international journalists visited MAG operations in Xieng Khouang province, northern Laos on April 22nd. As part of a visit organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), journalists representing amongst others The Times, Kyodo News and Associated Press visited the Phonesavanh Scrap Metal Foundry, where a MAG project to remove and destroy large amounts of exploded ordnance (UXO) has been underway since February.
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| Journalists visit the MAG project in Xieng Khouang |
Lao PDR remains a highly UXO-contaminated country and the harvesting of war scrap as a form of a cash income is, despite the known risks, a routine activity for many families living in UXO affected communities.
The innovative project aims to reduce and eliminate the risk of unsafe and dangerous stockpiled UXO stored in the Phonesavanh Foundry, reduce the movement of UXO within the scrap metal trade in Phonesavanh, provide safety briefings to scrap metal dealers and deploy a mobile Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) response to community UXO reports and UXO found with scrap dealers.
The journalist delegation also visited field operations, watched MAG clearance teams at work and saw several demolitions.
Links (MAG is not reponsible of the content of external sites):
» Agence France Presse (AFP) Lao PDR cluster munition article
» Agence France Presse (AFP) Lao PDR cluster munition video clip
2 May 08
