Vietnam Continues Making Efforts to Clear UXO

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has begun the fifth stage of the project to destroy unexploded ordnance in the central province of Quang Binh. MAG, which is sponsoring the project, signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday with the provincial People's Committee. The fifth stage, which has an estimated funding of $3.9 million, will begin in January 2015 and end in December 2017. It aims to reduce the casualties caused by unexploded ordnance and to support the residents who still feel affected by war. MAG started its work in Quang Binh Province in 2002. The fifth stage of the project is the sixth time it is working in the province. During the 2003-2014 period, MAG cleared nearly 1.9 million square meters of land in the province and discovered more than 27,000 dangerous spots. Nearly 86,000 unexploded ordnance items were removed and destroyed. (Vietnam News July 25)