Russian Army Engineers Start Clearing Lao Forest Of Unexploded Civil War Bombs - Ministry

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 15, 2018 | 09:22 PM

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its mine clearance team had started clearing Lao forests of unexploded ordnance left over from US air raids during the 1960s civil war in Laos.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its mine clearance team had started clearing Lao forests of unexploded ordnance left over from US air raids during the 1960s civil war in Laos.

"An opening ceremony of the demining operations by the mine clearance unit of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces has been held today in the settlement of Lak Sao in Laos' province of Bolikhamsai. After that, Russian deminers have started complete clearance of the territory from explosives," the ministry said in a statement.

The operation is part of the ASEAN mission on humanitarian mine clearance of which Russia and Laos are co-chairs, the ministry added.

The Laotian Civil War of 1959-1975 was fought between the Lao communist movement and the ruling government at the time and is considered one of the proxy wars of the Cold War period. The United States conducted regular air raids on Laos in 1964-1973.