Civilians living in towns and surrounding areas have been affected by landmine explosions during the third round of fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army (AA) in Arakan State, according to locals.
On 3 January at around 10 am, a youth from Ywa Thit (Northeast) Ward in Rathedaung was seriously injured after stepping on a landmine, according to residents.
Ko Maung San Win, 21, lost his right leg when he stepped on a landmine in front of Light Infantry Battalion 537 while he was hunting for fish with four other people, it was reported.
“They were searching for food because their livelihood is difficult. Then he stepped on a landmine and ended up like that. He is the only one who was hit by the landmine. His condition is worrying as the injury is very serious,” said a Rathedaung resident.
Ko Maung San Win, who was injured by the landmine, was taken to Rathedaung Township Hospital for treatment.
On 1 January, U Ba Tin Win, 56, from Rathedaung’s Northeast Ward, lost his left leg when he stepped on a landmine while herding his cattle in the field near the military checkpoint at the entrance of the town.
In Arakan State, since 13 November 2023, when fighting between the two armies flared up again, up to eight people from urban and surround areas have been injured by landmines, according to local relief workers.
The injured include two people from Minbya, two from Myebon, one from Ann, two from Rathedaung and one from Maungdaw. Among the landmine victims are up to four people from the towns and surrounding areas.
The explosions of landmines in and around the towns make residents no longer feel safe, residents say.
“The military council soldiers don’t care if civilians are harmed. Even with the mines, they just lay them. They do what they want. We are now on the run, but even if the area becomes peaceful, we are afraid to return to the town,” said a displaced woman from Minbya.
On 25 December last year, a man’s legs were blown off when he stepped on a landmine laid by junta troops on the path up to Kyine Taung Pagoda. Also on 15 December, a man’s right leg was blown off and his left leg was mangled when he stepped on a landmine near the township police station in Minbya, relief workers reported.
With the Arakan Army currently conducting offensives to capture military positions in the towns, junta soldiers are worried about the ethnic army’s advance and may have started laying mines around their battalions and police stations, according to a local Arakanese activist.
“In the current fighting, the military council is only on the defensive. They have recently lost many camps and outposts. To avoid losing the remaining urban camps, they will reinforce themselves as much as possible. So they might have planted mines around their positions in the towns,” he said.
On the other hand, the military council soldiers have banned residents from using or entering some places, warning that the areas are mined for security reasons.
A resident of Rathedaung said that the junta soldiers had forbidden residents from approaching the entrance of the town.
“They (junta troops) have forbidden people to go near the field near their camp. It looks like they have laid mines in the areas near the town. The residents are even more worried now because some people have been hit by landmine explosions recently,” said a resident of the town.
Also on 25 December, junta soldiers banned farmers from harvesting rice within 600 yards from Light Infantry Battalion 550 based in Ponnagyun, warning that mines had been laid in the field.
As there are often civilian casualties from mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict areas, residents must take special care to avoid entering the restricted areas of armed groups and touching unexploded weapons.
Sent by Aung Htein (DMG).
