Man severely injured in Maungdaw Twsp landmine blast

By Admin 24 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom
24 September 2025, Maungdaw

An ethnic Mro man from Gyitchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, was severely injured in a landmine explosion while going to his farm on Wednesday afternoon.

Villagers said that 21-year-old Ko Shwe Hit suffered serious injuries to his right leg after stepping on a landmine while walking to a field near his village at around 12:30 p.m. on September 24.

“He is a farmer. He stepped on a landmine today and was seriously injured,” said a local man from Gyitchaung Village. “There has been no fighting near that mountain before. But there are activities by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Arakan Army (AA). ARSA members are hiding in that mountain.”

The mountain where he stepped on the landmine is said to be Mayu Mountain, located more than 2 miles north of Gyitchaung Village.

“He was sent to another place because he refused to receive medical treatment in Kyeinchaung. The lower part of his foot was completely amputated. Now the villagers don’t dare to go to that mountain,” said a family member of Ko Shwe Hit.

On May 1, a Muslim resident of Paungzar Village in Maungdaw Township lost one of his legs after stepping on a landmine.

On May 10, a man in his 50s from Yaynauk Ngarthar Village lost one of his legs when he stepped on a landmine while going to the mountains near the village to collect vegetables.

Locals say they are concerned about the risk of landmines as there have been a number of landmine incidents in Maungdaw Township.

A local woman in Maungdaw said, “Usually, grassroots people rely on the mountains to solve their food problems. After the fighting, locals in these mountains don’t dare to go to collect vegetables and firewood because they are afraid of landmines. The locals are already struggling, and now they are afraid of landmines, so they are no longer able to work and earn more.”

Locals in Arakan State are suffering from food shortages due to a lack of jobs and rising prices.

Due to these crises, grassroots people rely on the forests and mountains to make a living through casual work such as collecting firewood and bamboo. 

Social aid organisations say that while the Arakan Army has been clearing landmines, putting up warning signs and holding awareness events about the dangers of landmines and explosive remnants of war, it is not doing enough on the ground.

“The United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) is working on landmine awareness, but I think it is not enough for the locals,” said a man working for a community organisation in Arakan State. “It would be better if the ULA/AA could focus on clearing landmines in towns and villages where junta troops were stationed and in the areas of conflict. We can also warn children in a way that they can understand, so that we can reduce this risk.”

According to a DMG tally, five locals were killed and 32 injured due to landmines and ERWs in Maungdaw Township from April 2024 to September 24, 2025.