Preah Vihear Temple Suffered Extensive Damage from Airstrikes and Attacks, CMAC Reports

H.E. Heng Ratana, Director General of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), said that an assessment conducted at Preah Vihear Temple revealed extensive damage caused by aerial bombardment and attacks on the World Heritage site. In a social media post on Sept. 10, H.E. Heng Ratana thanked UNESCO-ICOMOS for releasing its assessment report on what he described as the most severe destruction and damage inflicted on Preah Vihear Temple, the heritage of Khmer ancestors and a World Heritage site. He said CMAC had conducted surveys, information gathering and assessments of explosive remnants of war (ERW) at the Preah Vihear Temple site. According to the CMAC Director General, the operations found that Thai soldiers had dropped aerial bombs and fired at 501 targets on the temple structures, causing damage to more than 560 locations. H.E. Heng Ratana further said that the findings indicated that the bombing and attacks on Preah Vihear Temple involved clear strategic planning, tactics, coordination, and command and control, with the intent to destroy the temple. He stressed that Preah Vihear Temple is one of the world’s rare and significant heritage sites and an ancestral legacy of the Khmer people. H.E. Heng Ratana expressed hope that justice would prevail for Preah Vihear Temple and that those responsible for its destruction would face punishment under international law. The full report is available on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website at: https://whc.unesco.org/document/227108 https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1224/documents/ By C. Nika