Paletwa Twsp man loses leg in landmine explosion

By DMG 10 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
10 September 2022, Paletwa, Chin State 

A local man from Ngapwee Village in Chin State’s Paletwa Township was seriously injured in a landmine blast on the morning of September 9. 

The landmine victim has been identified as Ko Oo Thein Aung, 23. He was severely wounded after he stepped on a landmine while harvesting paddy on his farmland near the village, a resident said. 

Due to the severity of his injuries, Ko Oo Thein Aung’s right leg was reportedly amputated and he is being provided medical treatment at Paletwa Hospital. 

There has been growing concern among residents in rural parts of Paletwa Township following the landmine blast in a paddy field, as many rely on harvesting crops from such fields for their livelihoods. 

“We are concerned for our safety because he [Ko Oo Thein Aung] was injured in the landmine explosion while harvesting on farmland. We are worried that a similar incident will occur in the future,” said another resident. 

A 25-year-old man from Hseemawa Village in Paletwa Township was severely injured after he stepped on a landmine while going to his farm to harvest paddy on September 1. And a woman from Abaung Thar Village in Paletwa Township was killed in a landmine explosion on August 24.  

In addition, a man from Tarein Village in neighbouring Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, was severely injured in a landmine blast on August 30. 

Paletwa Township has seen renewed fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in recent weeks, while landmine injuries and deaths have been reported with alarming regularity across the region for the past few years. 

Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army reached an informal ceasefire agreement ahead of the country’s November 2020 general election, after some two years of often-intense fighting in Arakan State and Paletwa Township. But the peace pact has verged on total collapse for weeks amid months of escalating military tensions and a series of clashes between the two sides across multiple Arakan State townships, and in Paletwa Township.