Septuagenarian woman killed after stepping on landmine in Kyauktaw Twsp

By DMG 31 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
31 May 2022, Kyauktaw 

An elderly woman from Yokethar village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was killed in a landmine blast at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, according to local residents. 

The deceased has been identified as 75-year-old Daw Ma Tin Thein, who reportedly stepped on a landmine while walking to a hill on the outskirts of Yokethar village to collect vegetables, said Ko Kyaw Hla Myint, a resident of Kyauktaw town who assisted the victim following the deadly encounter. 

“We arranged to send the victim to the hospital after she stepped on a landmine. However, the victim died at the village jetty while waiting for a boat to be taken to the hospital. Her body was sent to Kyauktaw Hospital’s morgue,” he told DMG. 

Daw Ma Tin Thein sustained severe injuries to both legs and reportedly died of excessive bleeding, villagers said. 

“As the villagers are poor, they depend on the jungle for their livelihoods,” said one resident, on condition of anonymity. “The victim and her daughter earn a living by collecting vegetables. When this happens, other people get scared to go to the jungle to forage for vegetables.” 

Yokethar village is located about three miles from Kyauktaw town. There have been past clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) in the mountains near where the landmine exploded on Tuesday morning. 

The military is currently stationed in the hills west and north of the village, according to locals. 

Ma Sandar Aye, at the time 18 years old and also from Yokethar village, was severely injured after stepping on a landmine on November 4, 2020. Taken together, the incidents are a reflection of the lingering threat that landmines pose to civilians even years after active conflict has ceased in conflict zones. 

At least 56 people were killed and 132 others were injured in landmine and explosive remnant of war (ERW) encounters during some two years of fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army in Arakan State from 2018-2020, according to figures from the Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC). There have been dozens of landmine-related deaths and injuries in the year-plus since the warring sides reached an informal ceasefire toward the end of 2020.