Editorial photo #678751 Social Issue

Giant rats prepare to demine Cambodia’s notorious K5 belt

A land owner walks on his land for the first time since the K5 plan began on the 19th July 1984. In practice the K5 fence / belt consisted of a roughly 700 kilometre long, 500 metre wide stretch of land along the border with Thailand, where anti tank and antipersonnel mines were planted to a density of about 3,000 mines per kilometre of frontage. Moments before he signed paperwork supplied by CMAC allowing him to safely reclaim his estate after they successfully cleared the area of all forms of explosives and remnants of war. Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia. Cambodia is still one of the most landmine-affected countries in the world. Over 64,000 landmine and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) casualties have been recorded in Cambodia since 1979.