Vietnam recovers dozens of fallen soldiers' remains in Cambodia

Vietnamese military teams continued a multi‑year effort to locate and repatriate the remains of volunteer soldiers who died in Cambodia during the war. Team K51 of the Dak Lak provincial Military Command recovered 27 sets of remains during the 2025‑2026 dry season, after seven months of searching remote forests and mountains in Mondulkiri province. The operation is part of a nationwide "500‑day campaign" that aims to accelerate the search, recovery and identification of all fallen soldiers ahead of a July 2027 deadline.

In a separate handover, the An Giang province received the remains of 14 additional soldiers found in Cambodia. Since 2000, Vietnam has recovered and repatriated 769 sets of remains from the region, but the work is becoming harder as eyewitnesses age and landscape changes erase burial sites. Authorities stress the need for new information from local communities to continue the effort.