Jury Chai, Independent Mon News Agency – A local Burmese labourer stepped on a land mine planted by an unknown person or armed group near a village four miles from Three Pagodas Pass (Phya Thone Zu) town on Burma’s southern border with Thailand on 18 July.
The victim, Ko Thet Naing Myint, was taken to Three Pagodas Pass Hospital. However, as his condition was serious, he was referred to a Thai hospital in the city of Kanchanaburi. Doctors at the Thai hospital decided to amputate his leg as the injury was serious.
Ko Thet Naing Myint, an agricultural worker, was injured by the landmine in the area near Tae Thone Lone village while he was working on land belonging to a plantation owner. The land mine was planted in the plantation of U Myint Oo, a native of Three Pagodas Pass town.
Currently, the victim is still receiving treatment in Kanchanaburi Hospital. He is a Burmese who has migrated from an area near Rangoon, the former capital of Burma.
Another victim, a Karen farmer, also stepped on a land mine on 17 July in the same area of Tae Thone Lone village. The Karen man is receiving treatment at Three Pagodas Pass Hospital, said a local villager.
It is hard to confirm which armed group or groups are planting landmines in the area outside of Three Pagodas Pass, as many armed groups are active in the area, said a local IMNA reporter.
Recently, both Burmese Army troops and Karen troops have conducted military patrols in the area, and it is difficult to know who planted the mines. About 300 Burmese troops from Light Infantry Division No. 22 were active in the area during the month of June.
During the first and second weeks of June, an unknown armed group attacked Three Pagodas Pass town, burning down several houses and killing some town residents. The Burmese Army then reinforced their troops in the area.
Three Pagodas Pass town and nearby areas, such as Maekatha, Kyun-gaung, and Pongkatar areas, have recently become battlefields, with numerous landmines planted.
