Arya News - According to reports from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), M42, M46 and M85 submunitions from the M-series of cluster munitions have been newly discovered in Cambodia. They are believed to be remnants from the Cambodia-Thailand border conflicts of July and December 2025.
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia has called on the international community and development partners to provide continued technical and financial support to address the impact of and clear newly discovered cluster munitions from Cambodian territory, following the 2025 conflict.
The request was made by Senior Minister Ly Thuch, first vice-president of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), who is leading a Cambodian delegation to a conference against the use of cluster munitions in Vientiane, Laos, this week.
According to reports from the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), M42, M46 and M85 submunitions from the M-series of cluster munitions have been newly discovered in Cambodia. They are believed to be remnants from the Cambodia-Thailand border conflicts of July and December 2025.
CMAC said the M-series cluster munitions pose a high risk as they can explode at any time, particularly endangering children and civilians living or working in affected areas.
The centre said that since July last year, when the first round of fighting took place, M-series cluster munitions have caused casualties among 10 Cambodian civilians.
While in Vientiane, Thuch also held talks with Tamar Gabelnick, director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines-Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC).
During the meeting, he told the ICBL-CMC director that the use of cluster munitions by Thailand on Cambodian territory was an attack on the spirit and essence of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
He added that the use of the munitions by the Thai military represented a setback to the global commitment to oppose the use of the dangerous weapons.
The use of the weapons not only posed new threats to Cambodian civilians, he said, but also undermined the international community’s efforts and the ICBL-CMC’s advocacy to eliminate cluster munitions worldwide.
Thuch called on the ICBL-CMC to continue strengthening its advocacy and speaking out clearly against the use of cluster munitions anywhere, in order to protect civilian lives and uphold the humanitarian spirit of the convention.