Abstract
Cambodia is one of the countries most heavily contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance, a result of nearly three decades of conflict. The nation was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and through the 1960s and 1970s Cambodia was involved in the Indochina Wars, seeing significant bombing. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh, taking over every town and city; they were not entirely removed from Cambodia until 1999. Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978 displaced the Khmer Rouge; the Vietnamese occupied Cambodia for 10 years, which invoked almost 13 years of civil war. Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, found landmines so effective at causing fear and death that he called them his "perfect soldiers."
Recommended Citation
Profile, Country
(2006)
"Cambodia,"
Journal of Mine Action
: Vol. 10
:
Iss.
2
, Article 18.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol10/iss2/18
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