In Theinni Township in northern Shan State, two men were hit by a landmine while cleaning the compound of the church under construction in Hotar village in Kawng Haw village tract, killing one man, according to local sources.
The incident took place on 6 May at around 11 am. One of the two men who had stepped on the landmine succumbed to his serious injuries, according to a woman from Theinni.
“They were volunteering at the Kachin church when they were hit by the landmine. At first, both of them were taken to the hospital by motorcycle. Unfortunately, one of them didn’t make it,” she said.
The deceased has been identified as a 24-year-old man, but his name and address are not yet known. The injured man is currently being treated at Theinni Hospital.
More than four months after “Operation 1027” in Theinni town, residents have been able to return home, but no organization has conducted demining operations or provided mine risk education in the area, locals say.
“No organization has cleared the area yet. Only the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) is now present in Theinni. Most of the landmines are in the south of the town. As the fighting took place on the other side of the town for a long time, we don’t know who laid these mines and where exactly they are located. They pose a real danger to the civilian population. Those who have returned home know nothing about the dangers of the mines,” added another woman from Theinni.
Many returned residents are not even living in proper houses, but in dilapidated houses damaged by artillery shelling, the sources said.
On 21 April, a man named Sai Aung Min from Kawng Haw village in Theinni Township was killed after he was hit by a landmine while picking vegetables behind his house.
According to the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor report published in late 2023, Shan State had the highest fatality rate from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) between 2007 and 2022 in Myanmar at 26.55 percent.
The report notes that since the military coup, the number of landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties has increased significantly in most states and regions, with the exception of Nay Pyi Taw, with more than half of Myanmar’s townships affected by landmines.
Sent by Shan News