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‘US landmines still threaten Vietnam’

Press TV – December 5, 2011

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung says abandoned explosives and land mines planted decades ago during the Vietnam War, have claimed the lives of more than 42,000 people.

The premier also added that since the end of the war in 1975, more than 62,000 Vietnamese people have also been injured as a result of unexploded bombs and mines, the Associated Press reported.

“The war’s painful legacy, which includes hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs and unexploded ordnance, continues to cause painful casualties every day,” he said during a United Nations-sponsored conference on Monday.

Dung said that his country needed US $500 million in domestic and international funds in order to clear the remaining bombs and mines.

The US used an estimated 16 million tons of bombs and ammunition while allied with the former South Vietnamese government.

During the conference, US Ambassador David Shear added that the US has provided Vietnam with US $62 million in aid to cope with the consequences of the war, which has “helped build the mutual trust and understanding between the U.S. and Vietnam that has allowed our bilateral relationship to flourish.”

According to Vietnam’s vice Labor Minister Bui Hong Linh, explosives remain on nearly 16 million acres of land, which is more than one-fifth of the country’s territories. This is while only five percent of the contaminated area has been cleared.

Experts say that the clearing process in Vietnam will take up to hundreds of years.

December 5, 2011 - Posted by | Militarism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes

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