Kyauktaw Twsp man loses leg in landmine blast

15 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
15 February 2023, Kyauktaw

A local man from Lanmadaw Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, was severely injured in a landmine explosion on Wednesday morning, according to family members.

The 42-year-old victim has been identified as U Zaw Moe Lwin aka Maung Chaw. He stepped on a landmine about a 15-minutes’ walk from the village while on his way to a hill to cut down firewood, said Ko Myint Zaw, a nephew of the victim.

“Not long after the landmine blast, a person who accompanied my uncle said one of my uncle’s legs had been cut off. He [U Zaw Moe Lwin] also sustained injuries to his right arm. Now he has to be given an injection and a blood transfusion,” Ko Myint Zaw explained.

U Zaw Moe Lwin lost his right leg and he was transferred to Sittwe General Hospital from Kyauktaw Hospital as his condition was considered life-threatening, according to those who assisted him.

Since November 26 — when the Arakan Army and Myanmar military reached an informal ceasefire — six people have been killed and at least 13 others were injured in landmine explosions in Arakan State, according to a DMG tally.

Among those killed by landmine explosions were one each from Buthidaung and Minbya townships and two each from Maungdaw and Ponnagyun townships. Those wounded by included one each from Maungdaw, Ann and Kyauktaw townships, five from Buthidaung and four from Ponnagyun Township.