Thai Navy finds evidence of Cambodian troops planting new landmines

The Thai Navy’s mine action unit has discovered a mobile phone in the Phu Makua area of Si Sa Ket province, which the Thai military said contained video clips and still images of Cambodian soldiers planting new anti-personnel landmines in violation of the global ban.

Phu Makua hill, an area of forested highland in Si Sa Ket, was fiercely contested during last month’s fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces. It is now firmly under the control of the Thai Army.

Officials from Clearance Team 1 of the Navy’s Humanitarian Mine Action Unit found the phone during a clearance operation recently. An inspection of the device revealed clips and photos of Cambodian soldiers holding PMN-2 landmines.

According to the translation, the first clip, about one minute long, shows two soldiers wearing camouflage uniforms bearing Cambodian insignia, saying: “Pull the pin. Do not squeeze. Pull the pin out. Slowly pull it out. Do not twist.”

Another clip shows a PMN-2 mine being buried, with the intended targets being the ankles of whoever triggers it. The instruction was to place the mines at the bases of 210 trees.

Cambodia has repeatedly denied Thailand’s accusations that it has violated the global ban on anti-personnel mines by stockpiling and planting them in Thai territory along the shared border. It claims that the mines are kept for training purposes only.

Five Thai soldiers have lost limbs and many others have been injured in mine explosions while patrolling on Thai soil along the border. Cambodia has insisted that the mines were remnants from wartime and not newly laid.