Man injured after stepping on landmine outside Rathedaung Twsp village

By Hnin Nwe 29 Apr 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
29 April, Rathedaung

A local resident was wounded by a landmine blast in the mountains about a mile outside of Thar Si Gone village in Arakan State’s Rathedaung Township on April 29, according to family members.

U Maung Than Tin, 50, stepped on a landmine after venturing off the area’s well-trodden terrain to chop bamboo.

“He left home to cut bamboo. At first, he slipped over a rock and stepped on a landmine’s tripwire. Then he got injured after the landmine exploded as he couldn’t avoid it,” said Ko Min Thein, a family member.

Locals from Thar Si Gone say they rely on the mountains outside the village for their livelihoods, but increasingly the residents fear a fate similar to that of U Maung Than Tin might befall them.

He suffered injuries to his right leg and chest, and was admitted to Sittwe General Hospital.

Daw Khin Saw Wai, the Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Rathedaung Township, said civilians needed to be mindful of the dangers posed by landmines as much of Arakan State is considered an active, past or potential future conflict zone.

“Some people from IDP camps wanted to return home to retrieve their buffaloes, cows, foodstuffs and home appliances that they left behind, but they were worried about the risk of landmine explosions along the way. They said some villagers who returned home lost their legs or died because they stepped on landmines on the way,” Daw Khin Saw Wai added.

Since fighting ramped up in December 2018, conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Arakan State has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and other forms of collateral damage due to landmine explosions, stray heavy weapons and small arms fire, and other combat-adjacent violence.