Landmines kill 22 people in Cambodia last year, down 49 %

Landmines had killed 22 people in Cambodia in 2013, down 49 percent compared with 43 deaths in a year earlier, a report of the Cambodian Mine Action Authority showed Tuesday. Besides the deaths, 89 others were injured, down 37 percent from 142 injuries, the report said. The country recorded 71 accidents last year, down 8 percent compared with the 77 accidents in a year earlier. The Southeast Asian nation is one of the world's worst countries suffered from landmines. An estimated 4 million to 6 million landmines and other munitions left over from three decades of war and internal conflicts that ended in 1998. Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodia Mine Action Center, has said that more than 3 million landmines and unexploded ordnances have been removed and destroyed, and the country is seeking about 50 million U.S. dollars a year until 2020 to entirely get rid of all types of anti-personnel mines.