IDPs call for removal of unexploded mortar shell near Kyauktaw displacement camp

By Admin 30 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
30 August 2023, Kyauktaw

IDPs want officials to remove an unexploded mortar shell found on a hill near No. 2 Wah Taung camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kyauktaw Township, Arakan State, as soon as possible.

The artillery shell was discovered on a hill about five furlongs west of the displacement camp on July 21.

“An unexploded artillery shell was discovered on the hill to the west of the displacement camp. We informed the responsible people about the unexploded ordnance, but they still haven’t removed it. There are children in the displacement camp, and I’m worried that they will touch it before we notice, so I want junta officials to remove the unexploded mortar shell as soon as possible,” said U Naing Tun Win, an official from the IDP camp.

Officials of the camp said that PFP (People for People) and other relevant authorities, who are conducting landmine awareness, have been notified to remove the ammunition, but they have not removed it yet.

The displacement camp is home to over 330 IDPs and it was relocated to near Taungminkalar Village from Wah Taung Village in April 2023.

“The mortar shell was discovered by an IDP woman while digging mountain yam tubers. I want the concerned officials to remove it as soon as possible as there are many children at the displacement camp and I am worried about their safety,” said Ma Khin Khin Hla, an IDP woman.

There was no fighting in the area where the unexploded mortar shell was found, but in 2018, some of the ammunition fired by the Myanmar military landed on the hill, according to local residents. The road to the site of the unexploded ordnance was closed and residents were restricted from walking around on a recent DMG visit.

According to a DMG tally, 64 people died and 162 others were injured in explosions of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in 2022 in Arakan State and neighbouring Chin State’s Paletwa Township.

Since November 26 — when the Arakan Army and Myanmar military reached an informal ceasefire — six people have been killed and 14 others were injured in landmine explosions in Arakan State, DMG figures show.