20.11.2018 (19:00)
Russian engineers demine 21 hectares of the territory of Laos
Servicemen of the demining detachment of the International Mine Action Centre of the Russian Armed Forces are clearing the area of cluster bombs in the Lao people's Democratic Republic left over from the US bombardments of 1964-1973.
Since the beginning of the tasks of continuous clearance of the area, which is carried out in the wooded Khamket district of the province of Bolikhamsay, more than 21 hectares of the territory of explosive ordnance have been demined. All explosive ordnance found by Russian sappers refer to cluster bombs BLU-26, BLU-63 and BLU-3B.
To perform the tasks, the detachment is equipped with modern engineering means (IMP-S2 inductive portable mine-detecting set, MBI-P2 man-portable magnetometric mine detector, MG-1I mine detector, INVU-3M portable detector of noncontact explosive devices) and OVR-2-02 protective suits, equipped with a cooling system.
In addition to the main task, Russian specialists are training Lao servicemen in the branch of the International Mine Action Centre established in Laos. The first recruitment of Lao engineers has already started training course since November 1. After the completion of the course, Lao soldiers will be presented with a certificate of the established sample, confirming training in the International Mine Action Centre of the Russian Armed Forces.
The day before, the Minister of Defence of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Lieutenant General Sengnuan Xayalath visited the Russian detachment of the International Mine Action Centre of the Russian Armed Forces and thanked Russian sappers for performing the task of humanitarian demining of the Lao territory.
«I believe that your arrival and performing tasks of humanitarian demining in Laos is an important symbol and contribution to the development of cooperation between our countries, especially in the military field, and it will strengthen our relationship, which has started in the Soviet Union and is now developing», Lieutenant General Sengnuan Xayalath emphasized.
