Maungdaw Twsp man loses leg in landmine blast

By Admin 08 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
8 December 2023, Maungdaw

An administrator from Meetaik Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, was severely injured on Thursday evening in a landmine explosion near a Border Guard Force outpost abandoned by junta soldiers, and lost one of his legs.

The 40-year-old victim has been identified as U Maung Tha Tun, who stepped on a landmine while on his way to the village after going fishing on the evening of December 7.

“He lost his right leg after he stepped on a landmine. He is said to be in critical condition. He sustained landmine wounds to his left leg and body,” said a local woman.

The Meetaik Chaungwa BGF outpost where U Maung Tha Tun encountered the landmine was abandoned by regime soldiers on November 14, according to local people.

“I think the landmine was likely planted by the BGF members. He stepped on a landmine in the BGF outpost and the Arakan Army has yet to come to the BGF camp,” a resident said.

The AA has attacked BGF outposts and police stations in Arakan State since renewed hostilities between the military and ethnic armed group began on November 13.

The Arakan Army occupied four BGF outposts within the first 10 days of the latest hostilities in Arakan State. The AA also seized over 40 BGF outposts and police stations abandoned by junta troops, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on November 22.

Farmers in Arakan State and locals who depend on the forest for their livelihoods often face casualties due to explosions of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERWs).