BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE A MINE
 Landmines come in many different shapes and sizes. 
They can be made of metal, wood or plastic. After a period of time some mines will fall apart and may become unrecognizable.

On arrival in a mined country you should visit one of the demining or mine awareness agencies to find out which landmines are found in that country (as well as the location of known mined areas, the official warning signs/clues, etc).

Landmines can be broken into 3 categories :- Below Ground Mines, Above Ground Mines and Unexploded Ordinance (UXO). Remember that mines and UXOs are not always the brightly colored objects you can see in the posters and displays. Age and weathering can change their appearances with the metal mines rusting and the wooden and plastic mines breaking up.


Below ground (buried) mines can be as small as of a cigarette packet - which is capable of blowing off half of one leg, or as large as a car wheel rim (anti-tank mine) - which would leave no trace of the victim's who detonated it.

Above ground (surface) mines are designed to kill and cause as much psychical damage as possible. For example, the Type 69 'Bounding Mine' has a tripwire attached, which is strung across a path, when tugged it detonates the primary charge causing the mine to jump out of the ground to the height of around 1 meter, then a secondary charge causes it to explode. Anyone within 11 meters will be severely injured by the thousands of red hot razor sharp cast iron fragments.

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) are the different ammunitions used in battle, e.g. shells, grenades, rockets, mortars, bullets, etc. UXOs are designed to explode when they land but sometimes do not detonate immediately. They will remain where they land, waiting for an unsuspecting person to move them causing them to detonate. The bombs are now more sensitive and may detonate by just a touch or, as one deminer told me, by the casting of a shadow could be enough to cause some bombs to explode.
 
 

CAMBODIAN MINE AWARENESS TEACHERS CURRICULUM
MAIN POINTS
      BELOW GROUND MINES
- Do Not Touch any mines. 
- Usually buried mines are 
impossible to see 
- Buried mines can be 
uncovered by weathering. 
- Buried mines are usually 
set off by stepping or putting 
weight on the top.
 
  ABOVEGROUND MINES
- Do Not Touch any mines.
- Surface laid mines are 
usually placed in long 
grass or behind trees. 
- Surface laid mines are set 
off by pulling a loose wire 
or pulling/cutting a tight wire. 
- If you see a tripwire do not 
touch it or try to step 
over the wire.
 UNEXPLODED 
ORDNANCE (UXO)
- UXOs are more 
destructive than mines. 
- A common mortar has a 
lethal range of 300 meters. 
- The largest bomb has a 
lethal range of 1000 meters. 
- Even if you find the UXOs in 
their packing cases, they are 
still dangerous and should 
not be touched.
INITIATION 

- There are 5 ways to set off the different types of mines. 
    1. Stepping on a mine. 
    2. Tripping or pulling a loose tripwire attached to a mine. 
    3. Cutting or pulling a tight tripwire attached to a mine. 
    4. Removing a heavy object that has been placed on a mine. 
    5. Touching or tilting a mine. 
- Some mines can be set off by several of the methods listed above. 
 
 

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