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Toui Bounmy Sidavong, 43, holds a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. Addressing the legacy of war in Laos will be a focus of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip this week to the country's capital, Vientiane, for a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and an East Asia Summit. Obama, who will become the first sitting president of the United States to visit Laos, is expected to announce more funding to help clear leftover bombs and conduct Laos' first national survey on unexploded ordnance. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. warplanes dropped more than 270 million cluster munitions on Laos, one-third of which did not explode, according to the Lao National Regulatory Authority for UXO (NRA). (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Toui Bounmy Sidavong, 43, holds a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. Addressing the legacy of war in Laos will be a focus of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip this week to the country's capital, Vientiane, for a meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders and an East Asia Summit. Obama, who will become the first sitting president of the United States to visit Laos, is expected to announce more funding to help clear leftover bombs and conduct Laos' first national survey on unexploded ordnance. From 1964 to 1973, U.S. warplanes dropped more than 270 million cluster munitions on Laos, one-third of which did not explode, according to the Lao National Regulatory Authority for UXO (NRA). The bombings were part of a CIA-run, secret operation aimed at destroying the North Vietnamese supply routes along the Ho Chi Minh trail and wiping out its communist allies. They also left a trail of devastation in Laos, which U.S. planes used as a dumping ground for bombs when their original target was unavailable and planes couldn't land with explosives. Across the country, over 20,000 people have been killed or injured by bombs since the war, many of them children. According to Legacies of War, an organization focused on addressing the impact of bombs dropped on Laos, $25 million a year will need to be spent over the next decade to prevent further casualties. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



Public workers play petanque in a courtyard used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Public workers play petanque in a courtyard used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A man makes spoons by melting the bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A man makes spoons by melting the bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War is used to grow plants in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War is used to grow plants in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A courtyard is used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A courtyard is used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A girl poses at an entrance of her house next to a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A girl poses at an entrance of her house next to a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



An unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War is seen decorating a hotel in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

An unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War is seen decorating a hotel in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A courtyard is used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A courtyard is used as a deposit of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A crater created by a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force plane during the Vietnam War, is seen in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A crater created by a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force plane during the Vietnam War, is seen in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 1, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



Technicians from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) work in a field searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Technicians from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) work in a field searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



An unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War found by technicians from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG), is seen in a field at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

An unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War found by technicians from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG), is seen in a field at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) pauses in a field while searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) pauses in a field while searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) works in a field searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) works in a field searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) poses for a photograph in a field while searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) poses for a photograph in a field while searching for unexploded bombs that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) holds a trigger before destroying unexploded bombs and ordnance found in a field, that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A technician from the NGO Mines Advisory Group (MAG) holds a trigger before destroying unexploded bombs and ordnance found in a field, that were dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, at Phaxay district in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A man walks past a house standing on bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A man walks past a house standing on bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A woman walks past a restaurant decorated with unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A woman walks past a restaurant decorated with unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang, Laos September 2, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A fence made of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, is seen in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A fence made of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, is seen in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A label is seen on a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A label is seen on a bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A boy stands in front of a house built on bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A boy stands in front of a house built on bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



Mr. Soud, 40, who was injured by an unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War when he was 10 years old, sits in his house in the village of Kakho in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Mr. Soud, 40, who was injured by an unexploded bomb dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War when he was 10 years old, sits in his house in the village of Kakho in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A Buddhist monk poses next to unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang in Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A Buddhist monk poses next to unexploded bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in Xieng Khouang in Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



Kek, 28, who was injured five years ago, while digging for metal to sell, by an unexploded bomb dropped by U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, poses in his house in the village of Kakho in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Kek, 28, who was injured five years ago, while digging for metal to sell, by an unexploded bomb dropped by U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, poses in his house in the village of Kakho in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)



A woman poses at an entrance of her house next to bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A woman poses at an entrance of her house next to bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force planes during the Vietnam War, in the village of Ban Napia in Xieng Khouang province, Laos September 3, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)
06 Sep 2016 10:30:00