Kyauktaw Twsp landmine victim dies at Sittwe General Hospital

By DMG 02 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
2 July 2022, Kyauktaw 

A local man from Wethmine village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township who was severely injured in a landmine blast on July 1 succumbed to his injuries while undergoing medical treatment at Sittwe General Hospital on Saturday, according to a family member. 

“My father has been sleeping since the morning with an injection. When I tried to wake him up at around 3 p.m., I realised that he was dead,” said U Kyaw Than, son of the landmine victim. 

The deceased has been identified as U Than Sein Maung, a man in his 40s. He sustained serious and ultimately fatal injuries to his lower body after stepping on a landmine about a mile from Wethmine village while searching for his cattle.  

The body of the deceased remained at hospital as of press time, U Kyaw Than said, and was not yet allowed to be brought to his village pending a post-mortem. 

U Than Sein Maung was admitted to Sittwe General Hospital on Friday night due to the severity of his injuries, said U Kyaw Than. 

U Than Sein Maung has been described as a breadwinner for his family of three, and earned a living as a tenant farmer. 

“We often hear of people searching for cattle and vegetables in the forest being injured in landmine blasts. To prevent this from happening, we want the relevant authorities to clear the landmines,” said U Win Tin, a relative of the landmine victim. 

At least 61 people were killed and 132 others were injured in landmine and explosive remnant of war incidents during some two years of fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State from 2018-20, according to the Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC). 

Though the conflict came to a halt toward the end of 2020, landmine casualties have continued with regularity in the months since. Five people have been killed and 22 injured in encounters with landmines and ERWs in Arakan State so far this year, said U Zaw Zaw Tun, secretary of the REC. 

Two women from a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Paletwa Township, Chin State, were injured in a landmine blast on June 20. An IDP was killed and another injured in a landmine explosion near Sanyin village in Arakan State’s Myebon Township on June 14.