War-era US-made aerial bomb discovered in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, June 21 (IANS) The Cambodian Mine Action Centre's (CMAC) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts have safely removed a war-era US-made MK-82 aerial bomb discovered recently in Kandal province, a mine clearance chief said on Wednesday.

The CMAC director-general Heng Ratana wrote on his Facebook page that the aerial bomb, weighing approximately 230 kg, was spotted in Kean Svay district's Raing Dek village while a farmer restored a pond, reports Xinhua news agency.

"This bomb was safely removed and neutralized on June 20," he said, adding that it was buried more than four metres deep in mud for more than 50 years.

According to Yale University, between 1965 and 1973, the US dropped some 230,516 bombs from planes on 113,716 sites in Cambodia.

Prime Minister Hun Sen wrote in his book titled "Hun Sen: 10 Years of Cambodia's Journey, 1979-1989" that the US bombings on his country caused "tens of thousands of civilian casualties because of this vicious undeclared war".

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