A red and white skull and crossbones with the words 'Danger! Mines!' in Khmer and English ...

A red and white skull and crossbones with the words 'Danger! Mines!' in Khmer and English attached to a tree next to a hut just outside the Mine Clearance Training Unit (MCTU) at Battambang gives a clear indication of just how close and constant a threat mines are. In front of the hut are a table with two canteen cups, a shaving mirror, tins and drums. These official signs were designed to replace makeshift devices such as bottles and scarves which the Cambodians still use to denote a known mine or minefield. In 1993, it was estimated that twenty million mines were stockpiled in Cambodia, eight to ten million mines remained undiscovered, and that they had been used at a rate and with such indiscretion that over 300 Cambodians were killed or maimed by mines every month.