Woman killed in Paletwa Twsp landmine blast while searching for missing husband

By DMG 24 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
24 August 2022, Paletwa, Chin State

A woman from Abaungtha Village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township, where fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army has flared in recent days, was killed in a landmine blast on Wednesday.

U Khaing Aye, a headmaster at a post-primary school in Abaungtha village and husband of the victim, had gone missing since August 21 after heading to the forest near the village to collect bamboo shoots.

The victim, identified as Daw Nang Laung Kham, 43, succumbed to her injuries from the landmine encounter on the morning of August 24, said U Ko Aung, a local resident.

The woman’s body was found by villagers on the other side of a creek about one and a half furlongs away from the village at around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

“Her body was found on the other side of the creek outside the village. Her husband went to the forest to collect bamboo shoots at around 3 p.m. on Sunday. Some residents attempted to stop her from going to the forest. She was killed in the landmine explosion while searching for her husband,” he explained.

The body of Daw Nang Laung Kham was taken from the forest, and her missing husband has not yet been found, U Ko Aung added.

“Her body was taken back from the scene of the landmine blast. We have not been in contact with her husband. There was a fight going on there, so the villagers didn’t dare to look for him,” he added.

DMG was able to contact Daw Nang Laung Kham on August 23, when she said she was worried about her husband’s wellbeing.

“I thought my husband may have been abducted by the Myanmar military or Arakan Army. The residents didn’t go outside to try to find my husband due to fighting near the village,” she told DMG.

The couple have two middle school-aged sons and one daughter. Fighting is ongoing between the military and AA in Paletwa Township and neighbouring Maungdaw Township, and military tensions have been running high in multiple parts of Arakan State.