Deadly Ammunition Mishap Kills 20 Cambodian Soldiers

A massive explosion in southwestern Cambodia over the weekend claimed the lives of 20 soldiers stationed at an army base, according to a senior military official. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon and was attributed to mishandling of ammunition by troops during its transfer from trucks into storage facilities. Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Mao Phalla explained that debris destroyed nearby buildings as well as four structures within the base itself while homes in neighboring villages also sustained damage due to falling rubble rather than shrapnel. The soldiers were instantly killed, and another 11 individuals suffered minor injuries from flying debris instead of fragments. A mass funeral was held for those who perished on Sunday. In March 2005, a similar incident took place in the northwestern town of Battambang when an arms depot exploded at nighttime, resulting in six fatalities and widespread panic due to prolonged shelling and bullet fire that lasted several hours. A report by Small Arms Survey published in 2014 highlighted the dangers associated with poorly stored or mishandled ordnance, stating there were over five hundred incidents involving unintended explosions at ammunition sites between 1979 and 2013 globally. Cambodian deminers from the Mines Action Center are currently clearing any unexploded ordinances in the area as investigations into this latest incident continue, with authorities acknowledging that determining the precise sequence of events is complicated since all personnel involved perished during the unloading process itself.