MOSCOW. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Russian mine disposal experts will again undertake a humanitarian mine clearance operation in Laos, the Russian Defense Ministry information department said in a statement.
"A mine disposal unit, which includes 34 servicemen of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian Armed Forces, has arrived in Laos to pursue a humanitarian demining operation in the country," the statement said.
Sappers will join mine clearance efforts near the town of Phonsavan in the Xiangkhoang Province, 175 kilometers of Vientiane, it said. The famous Plain of Jars, which was granted the status of UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019, is situated in the province.
"Clearance is to take place on the territory adjacent to the Plain of Jars. In the future, the demined area will be used to build social and transport infrastructure," the statement said.
The sappers will remain in Laos until March 2020, the statement cited head of the delegation Col. Sergei Kulikov as saying.
Russian servicemen are provided with the most advanced equipment to search for and detect highly explosive objects, as well as Russian-made protective suits for sappers, the quality of which exceeds their foreign equivalents.
A team of Russian sappers also worked in Laos in 2018-2019.
Civil war raged in Laos between 1960 and 1973. The crisis erupted between the national authorities, which were backed by the United States and South Vietnam, and Laotian guerillas who were provided with aid from North Vietnam and the Soviet Union.
Between 1964 and 1973, Washington carried out a military campaign in Laos, which was dubbed in the U.S as "a secret war". More than two million bombs were dropped on the country during this period, about 30% of which did not explode. It was reported in 2016 that Washington would allocate about $90 million for the program aimed at the defusing of bombs dropped by U.S. warplanes on Laos.