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Deadly 'bombies', visible in the centre of the picture, in a Lao village. |
Official figures from the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR [www.nra.gov.la].
• Lao PDR is the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in history
• Approximately 25 per cent of villages in Lao PDR are contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO)
• More than 580,000 bombing missions were conducted over Lao PDR
• More than two million tons of ordnance were dropped on Lao PDR between 1964 and 1973
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Photo gallery: Worldwide scourge of cluster bombs |
• Cluster submunitions or ‘bombies’ (as they are known locally) are the most common form of UXO remaining
• More than 270 million bombies were dropped onto Lao PDR
• Up to 30 per cent failed to detonate
• Approximately 80 million unexploded bombies remained in Lao PDR after the war
• All 17 provinces of Lao PDR suffer from UXO contamination
• 41 out of the 461 poorest districts in Lao PDR have UXO contamination2
• More than 50,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents in the period 1964 ‐2008
• More than 20,000 people have been killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents post‐war period, 1974‐2008
Of this 50,000 total casualties figure:
• 60 per cent were killed, 40 per cent were injured
• 23 per cent were children
• 13 per cent were female
• 15 per cent were caused by cluster bombs
• 20,000 plus survived the accident
Of this 20,000:
• 13,500 lost a limb
• 25 per cent of total casualties were in Savannakhet Province
• 12 per cent of total casualties were in Xiengkhuang Province
• Over the last decade there have been approximately 300 new casualties annually
• Over the last decade accidents caused by cluster bombs rose to 30 per cent of total casualties
• Over the last decade 40 per cent of total casualties were children.
Notes:
1 Previously a figure of 47 poorest districts has been referred to in many documents. In late 2009 Borikhan District in Bolikhamxay Province, included in this figure of 47, was formally elevated off this list having met multiple development objectives.
2 Poorest as defined by the Government of Lao PDR in the National Socio‐economic Development Plan.
Reference documents: • US Air Force, US Navy, South Vietnamese Air Force and Royal Lao Air Force bombing data – consolidated data held at the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao PDR
• UXO Sector Operational reports – consolidated data held at the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in Lao
PDR
• US Congressional Records – available at the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in the Lao PDR
• Lao Census data – available at the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine Action in the Lao PDR
• National study on the socio‐economic impact of unexploded ordnance, Handicap International, 1997
• The National UXO Accidents and Victim Survey Phase 1 Report prepared by the National Regulatory Authority for UXO/Mine
Action, NRA, Vientiane, December 2009
• To Walk the Earth in Safety: The United States Commitment to Humanitarian Demining, prepared by the Office of Humanitarian
Demining Programs, Bureau of Political‐Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State,
Washington DC, July 2009
• Lao UXO Sector Evaluation Report, Robert Griffin, Robert Keeley and Phetdavanh Sayyasouk, Vientiane, July 2008
• Master plan study: integrated agricultural development in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, JICA, Vientiane, October 2001
June 2010
See also:
- More on MAG's work in Lao PDR
- Google Earth: US Air Force Combat Activities 1965-1975
- Bombing data explained [external site]
- Bomb Harvest DVD: buy the critically acclaimed film
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