Chinese troops clear mines from Vietnam border
BEIJING - Chinese troops have cleared more than
280,000 landmines and unexploded bombs from the Sino-Vietnamese
border in a seven-month operation to boost trade between the two former
enemies, state media said on Wednesday.
The Guangzhou Daily said the operation had opened up 25 km (15 miles)
of border roads and two border crossings and was conducted without
serious injury.
``The success of the Yunnan operation has caught the attention of world
minesweeping experts,'' the paper said. China's southwestern province of
Yunnan borders Vietnam.
It said the rate of clearance was among the world's fastest.
The operation, conducted by 510 elite troops using advanced
minesweeping equipment, was the second large-scale clearing on the
border since 1994.
At least 800,000 mines were laid in Yunnan in a bloody border conflict
between China and Vietnam in 1979. Beijing had wanted to punish Hanoi
for its invasion of Cambodia a few months earlier.
Minesweepers were aided by advanced technology, including
anti-landmine boots developed by the Chinese military.
``One soldier stepped on 72 mines but because of the boots, only suffered
minor injuries to his toes and the skin on his feet,'' the paper said.
``He was treated and back with his unit in no time.''
The success of the operation has caught the attention of the United
Nations, which is considering using Chinese minesweeping expertise in its
clearing efforts abroad, the paper said.
There are an estimated 100 million landmines buried or hidden in 64
countries around the world. Some 25,000 people a year are killed or
maimed by mines left when wars end.
Reuters - February 03, 1999.
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