Vietnamese babies still born deformed because of US use of chemical weapons

(Daily Mail, London), 9 March 2017 -    A million Vietnamese people are still affected by America’s use of chemical weapons in the 1960s which has left babies suffering painful deformities and mental illness.   

Hospitals across the country are now caring for children who are suffering the horrific symptoms caused by Agent Orange decades after the attacks during the Vietnam War.   

Peace Village ward at Tu Du Hospital is home to surviving orphan victims of Agent Orange and an incredible set of photographs shows life inside the ward.   

Agent Orange is the combination of the code names for Herbicide Orange and Agent LNX, one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the US military as part of its chemical warfare programme, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971.   

Over the course of 10 years, American forces sprayed nearly 20million gallons of the chemical in Vietnam, Laos and parts of Cambodia in an effort to deprive guerrilla fighters of cover by destroying plants and trees where they could find refuge.   

The chemical was manufactured for the US Department of Defence by Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical.