A 10-year-old girl was injured in an explosion believed to have been caused by unexploded military ordnance in Kamarmaung town, Hpapun District, Karen State, local residents said.
The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. on February 6 in Ward No. 4, Tadarukone area of Kamarmaung. The fourth-grade student reportedly found an object believed to be a remnant of a military explosive device while playing with friends after finishing her school exams. The object later exploded while she was handling it.
“She picked up a small object wrapped with tape from the road and brought it home. While she was playing with it, it suddenly exploded. Shrapnel struck many parts of her body,” a local resident told the Independent Mon News Agency.
Residents believe the device may have been a homemade landmine left behind in the area.
The injured girl was initially assisted by social rescue teams from Kamarmaung and Myaing Gyi Ngu before being transferred to Hpa-An General Hospital for further treatment.
In a separate incident on January 30 at about 5 p.m., a 20-year-old man from Ward No. 21 in Hpapun Township was injured in the leg after his motorcycle struck a landmine near Takaungboe village in Kamarmaung, according to local sources.
Landmine and unexploded ordnance incidents remain a threat to civilians in conflict-affected areas of Karen State.
