IDP returnee loses leg in landmine blast
Maung Thein Soe, 18, was walking to a farm near an abandoned military camp where junta troops were once stationed on April 17 when he stepped on the landmine.
18 Apr 2024
DMG Newsroom
18 April 2024, Paletwa, Chin State
A civilian was severely injured after stepping on a landmine in Paletwa Township, Chin State, on Wednesday evening.
Maung Thein Soe, 18, was walking to a farm near an abandoned military camp where junta troops were once stationed on April 17 when he stepped on the landmine. He lost his left leg in the blast.
“We have been fleeing the fighting for four years. He was injured in a landmine explosion while he was clearing off his farm as the Arakha Army (AA) has seized Paletwa,” said a family member of the victim.
Maung Thein Soe and his family members have returned home in recent months after taking refuge at Nyaungchaung displacement camp in Kyauktaw Township for four years, since fighting in 2020.
Seven children under 12 years old were reportedly injured in an explosion of a war remnant in Tamanthar Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township, on April 13.
“We need more awareness about explosive remnants of war (ERWs). Children don’t know anything,” said an official from an Arakanese civil society organisation.