Border explosive clearance steps up

After Cambodian shelling, fears linger

- JAKKRIT WAEWKLAYHONG SURACHAI PIRAGSA

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team uses machinery to excavate a shell crater beside a concrete road in Ban Nong Ree, Trat province, on Thursday. JAKKRIT WAEWKLA YHONG

(JAKKRIT WAEWKLAYHONG)

State security forces have stepped up explosive clearance operations in Trat and Buri Ram following Cambodian shelling during the Dec 7-27 conflict last year, amid lingering fears of renewed border clashes.

Royal Thai Navy divers and the Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units, working alongside the Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC) and Trat provincial police, carried out disposal operations in Ban Nong Ree, Muang district in Trat on Thursday.

A 300-metre safety cordon was enforced, while community leaders asked residents to temporarily halt farming activities.

The team excavated a shell crater by a concrete road using heavy machinery and, after more than two hours, recovered only fragments later identified as shrapnel from a 122mm artillery shell fired from across the border.