Four children were killed and one seriously injured in a mine explosion in Khawea village in Paletwa Township in southern Chin State, according to locals.
At around 11 am on 9 May, the children stepped on a landmine while playing at a groundnut plantation on the bank of a creek near Khawea village.
“This is close to the village. This is a groundnut farm. It is also close to the creek. The children were playing there. The weather is hot. They usually go to the creek. One of five children from Paletwa stepped on a landmine when they went to the creek to take a bath and play there,” said Secretary of Interim Khumi Affairs Consultative Council (IKACC).
Those killed in the explosion are Maung Aung Tun,8, Maung Lin Myat, 8, and Maung Aung Lin Tun, 8, and Maung Aung Lin Soe, 11. They were cremated in the evening.
Maung Aung Soe Lin, 8, who is the younger brother of Maung Aung Lin Soe, sustained serious wounds to his abdomen and the whole body. He is being treated in the village. He is in a critical condition.
“The military council forces were stationed in the place where the incident took place. Currently, the Arakan Army (AA) is stationed there.
“So, the field where the accident took place was like the field of the military camp. We don’t know which side planted that landmine,” said the Secretary of IKACC.
The AA has designated the site where the explosion occurred as a mine danger zone and banned the public’s access to the area.
Khawea village is close to Lawngtlai district in Mizoram State on the India-Myanmar border. The military council forces have withdrawn from Khawea village with more than 150 households since March.
Sent by KMG.