Cluster Bomb / Submunition event in Lao People's Democratic Republic on Wed 28th January 2026

Clearance teams destroyed more than 1,000 unexploded ordnance (UXO) items during a large-scale operation in Champasak Province.

The demolition took place in Lak 48 village, Paksong district, where hundreds of UXO items were previously dropped and unexploded. From October 2025 to date, the operation destroyed 1,028 cluster munitions and four other UXO devices.

The Paksong clearance forms part of a broader national effort to reduce UXO risks. In early 2026, clearance teams safely removed three UXO found near residential houses in Kham district, Xieng Khouang Province.

Laos remains the world’s most heavily bombed country.

During the Second Indochina War, over two million tons of ordnance fell on Lao territory. Today, unexploded ordnance contaminates approximately 25 percent of all villages.

Bounpheng Sisawath, Director General of the National Regulatory Authority, reported 11 UXO-related incidents in 2025 during the annual UXO Sector Working Group Meeting in late 2025. These incidents resulted in 21 casualties, including five fatalities, with children representing the most vulnerable group.

In the first 11 months of 2025, national clearance teams removed UXO from 5,268 hectares, achieving 70 percent of their annual target, and destroyed 59,039 devices.

The UXO sector faces ongoing challenges including declining humanitarian funding, shorter project timelines, coordination difficulties between central and provincial authorities, and environmental factors such as flooding and soil erosion, which expose buried ordnance.

Authorities have called on local communities to report suspicious items and maintain cooperation with national and international UXO teams.