Two children were injured when an unexploded shell exploded in Ward 2 of Kawkareik town, Karen State, according to residents.
The explosion occurred when the children, both 11 years old, were playing with the explosive remnant on the morning of 13 July. The children were hit in the belly, chest, legs, hands and head.
A resident of Kawkareik said, “It happened when they were playing with the explosive remnants. I have no idea how long it has been there. It must have been there unexploded. That’s worrying for children.”
After the incident, the injured children were taken to Taung Ka Lay Hospital for treatment, but we have no one to clean up the remnants of war in the town, another resident said.
“It happened when they were playing with the unexploded ordnance. We have no one to remove them. The children are being treated at Taung Ka Lay Hospital,” he said.
In the meantime, the situation in Kawkareik remains calm without fighting. However, since April, the junta has been trying to rebuild and resume administrative functions in the town.
It has also called on displaced people to return to the town, allowing more and more displaced people to return, according to local sources.
However, as the military council has failed to clear the remnants of war, residents fear similar explosions in the future. Also in May this year, a returning displaced woman was hit by a landmine that severed her leg.
Due to the recent increase in civilian injuries caused by artillery shells fired by the junta army hitting the town’s neighborhoods, most of the returning displaced people are leaving the town once again, with the exception of some residents who are struggling with their livelihood and some employees under the junta’s administration, according to local residents.
According to the Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor’s report on Myanmar for December 2023, more than 1,300 people have been killed by landmines and explosive remnants of war in Myanmar since the military coup.
Sent by KIC.