From August 22 to September 10, 2024, there have been no fewer than six landmine explosion incidents in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State.
One of the incidents took place on September 10 at around 11:30 AM in Atwin Sakan Gyi village in Thanbyuzayat Township, where a 35-year-old man named Ko Ba Htoo was hit by a landmine while heading to a rubber plantation. As being severely injured by the blast, he was admitted to theThanbyuzayat Hospital following the incident.
During the last week of August and early September, three men were hit by landmines in a rubber plantation near Ye Tagon village in Thanbyuzayat Township. They were severely injured.
Additionally, two more landmine explosions occurred in Aung Thayar village of the same township and killed a man and a woman.
According to locals, landmine victims could have stepped on the mines while going to rubber plantations near the villages or while searching for firewood and vegetables in the forest.
The frequent landmine explosions in Thanbyuzayat Township have caused growing concern and anxiety among the locals, making it difficult for them to continue working in the forests and mountains.
Since the military coup, there has been a surge in landmine-related incidents in Mon State, especially in conflict-affected and high-risk areas like Ye, Kyaikto, Bilin, and Thaton Townships, where locals have been facing the threats posed by landmines.
These landmine explosions have claimed the lives of many civilians and left many people with severe injuries, including a leg amputation.