In a tragic incident in Cambodia, two toddlers lost their lives to an accident involving a rocket-propelled grenade on Saturday February 22.

The lethal weapon, believed to have been buried since the country’s civil war, exploded near the children’s home in northwestern Cambodia, an official said.

The blast occurred in a remote village in Siem Reap province, an area that saw heavy fighting between government forces and Khmer Rouge rebels during the 1980s and 1990s.

The victims, a boy and a girl who were both 2 years old and cousins, were reportedly playing in the dirt when they struck the grenade, causing it to detonate, said Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC).

“According to an investigation report, the two toddlers were playing on the ground, digging the soil and may have hit the grenade with an object that caused the explosion,” Heng said. One child died instantly, while the other succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

“The war has completely ended and there has been peace for more than 25 years, but the blood of Cambodian people continues to flow because of landmines and the remnants of war,” Heng added.

Cambodia’s demining efforts hampered by Trump's freeze on foreign aid

The incident comes as Cambodia resumes demining efforts following a temporary suspension. Washington had abruptly halted funding after former US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid.

However, US officials granted a waiver last week, allowing demining operations to continue.

Cambodia remains one of the world’s most heavily mined countries, with unexploded ordnance and ammunition scattered across the landscape from decades of conflict that began in the 1960s. The civil war ended in 1998, but lingering explosives continue to claim lives.

Since 1979, landmines and unexploded ordnance have killed approximately 20,000 people in Cambodia and injured more than 40,000. Fatalities remain common. Last month, two de-miners died while removing an anti-tank mine from a rice field, and a villager was killed by a landmine on his farm.

Authorities estimate that more than 1,600 square kilometres of land remain contaminated, affecting nearly a million Cambodians.

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Toddlers killed by decades-old grenade in Cambodia