US commits another 45 mln USD for UXO clearance in Laos

VIENTIANE -- Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the United States will provide 45 million US dollars for field surveys and the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos this year, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Monday.

The extra financial support for UXO clearance was announced when she met with senior officials in the Lao capital Vientiane on Friday.

"Today in Vientiane I was pleased to announce the US will continue to support clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Laos with an additional 45 million US dollars, bringing the total to more than 240 million US dollars since 2016," Sherman said on her Twitter on Friday.

According to Lao News Agency (KPL), Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune received a courtesy call from the visiting US deputy secretary of state on Friday.

According to statistics from Lao authorities, from 1965 to 1973 the United States dropped some 2 million tons of ordnance on Laos during the Vietnam War, including 2.7 million cluster bombs which are designed to break apart and release a payload of smaller bombs. As many as 30 percent of these bombs did not explode.

Laos is one of the most heavily bombed country in the world. While in the last 10 years, a total of 285 UXO-related accidents were recorded in Laos, with 362 people injured and 107 deaths.

Sherman is on an Asia visit, which has taken her to South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam.